


Cold Honey

by likeashotofsugar



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst with a Happy Ending, It's decent i promised, Kinda arranged marriage kinda marriage of convenience, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, i guess??, switching POV, there's a lot going on here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:33:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 27,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28787259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likeashotofsugar/pseuds/likeashotofsugar
Summary: “Be friendly,” Joshua tells him as he tucks Junhui’s hair behind an ear, “but you are to never, never, be friends with the summer court. Our courts don’t mix. do you understand me, Junnie?”Junhui wipes his eyes with a sniffle. He had just asked if he could go play with Soonyoung, both the only children in the court that were big enough to play. Seungkwan and Vernon are too little to chase around. Minghao is meditating again.-In which Soonyoung and Junhui have to get married to combine their powers to fix the damage that the humans have done to mother nature. Too bad Junhui has had a crush on Soonyoung for the last 300 odd some years
Relationships: Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Wen Jun Hui | Jun
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34
Collections: Seventeen Rare Pair Fest: 2 Rare 2 Pair





	1. Assume I got a Baby Daddy Because I got a Baby

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SVTRarePairFest2](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SVTRarePairFest2) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Hoshi- King of the summer court  
> Junhui - King of the Winter Court
> 
> Fairies and all the weird shit that comes with it. Strategic marriage? Secret relationship? Anything is cool just give someone pointy teeth
> 
> Okay so there's a lot to go over so buckle up here we go. This fic is almost completely written and will, hopefully, be fully posted by the end of the month and broken up in 4 maybe 5 chapters.
> 
> IMPORTANT VOCABULARY  
> troopling - a fae that is not of the high court  
> changling - a human child that has been replaced by a fae  
> samhain - the pagan holiday that is kinda the base for halloween as we know it that is to celebrate the harvest and fall as a whole
> 
> If there's any other words that need to be explained please ask and I will do so!!! I had a lot of fun doing this and world building!!

_“The humans have done too much damage to mother nature,” Seungcheol says solemnly, “my court and Seokmin's courts lose power every year and now it’s affecting the summer and winter courts.” The four faes look at each other knowingly. They can not deny it anymore. Last cycle even Joshua struggled to get the snow to let up in Busan. The winters are getting too cold and out of hand. The summers are no better._

_“We need something to restore balance. Does anyone have any ideas?”_

_A silence falls over them. If they don’t come up with something the portion of the human realm they rein over will be destroyed. It’s no longer an if, it’s a when. A when breathing down their necks with a problem they did not cause but now have to try to fix. A when that means much more than just humiliation in front of the other fae courts, more than the king of all faes having to step in. It’s a when that could mean life or death for them as well. They all remember too vividly what happened to the court in Alantis._

_“I have an idea.” Jeonghan breaks the silence, his voice almost too loud in the quiet of the room. He gestures to Joshua across the table half heartedly, “he’s not going to like it though.”_

_“Whatever it is, we have to at least consider it.” Seokmin speaks up before Joshua has the chance to say a word._

_“We combine the powers of the summer and winter courts with a union between the two.”_

_“Fuck you!” Joshua slams his hands against the wooden table in front of them. “I'm not doing that! I can’t do that! We can’t enter a union together, Jeonghan!”_

_Across the table, Jeonghan rolls his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself. Not everything is about you, you know. I was thinking about our sons.”_

_“Absolutely fucking not!”_

_“Now wait a minute,” Seungcheol interjects, “he might be onto something. It could bring the balance we need if we combine the powers. Your courts would feed off each other then and could have it so mine and Seokmin's courts can gain power too. Don’t they both fall under the Gemini sun, that would strengthen their power as well.”_

_Joshua glares at the fall king. Seungcheol doesn’t waiver. He never does._

_“Junhui wont go for it.”_

_“He doesn’t have a choice.”_

* * *

When Junhui was maybe 300 years old or so Joshua took him to the coronation of Soonyoung into the unseelie court. He watched the summer court prince kneeled before the king in front of the entire kingdom of their realm. King Jeonghan, with his crown of daisies and berries perched on his head of beautiful long locks, leaned forward until they were nearly nose to nose. If you looked close enough you could see Jeonghan's lips move, though you didn’t need to look that hard to see the shine in his eye as he looked at soonyoung. 

A small nod and then Fae King behind them announced loudly that with the touch of Jeonghan’s hand to Sooyoung's forehead would finalize the coronation. The king's hand was gentle as he touched his son's head. A light like fireflies swarmed around the two, blinding Junhui with their brightness. 

When the lights died down and Jeonghan moved his hand Soonyoung looked up and smiled, smiling at the whole court. a row of sharp teeth glint in the sunshine, shark like in appearance. 

Junhui hasn’t stopped thinking about those teeth.

* * *

Soonyoung weaves between the bodies with a glass in hand. He promised Vernon he would get him the persimmon wine that faes not of the autumn court can have when the autumn court hosts their equinox. If Soonyoung spills any, his friend will probably cry.

The ball room is a cluster of faes of all kinds; seelie and unseelie, from all four of the season courts, trooplings and high court faes mix together after the trek up to the autumn courts favorite hollowed out tree. The colors of the hanboks remind Soonyoung more of spring than they do fall, so many of them and all so bright as they mingle together.

Soonyoung hands the wine off to Vernon. The two stand and watch as Mingyu throws the yun nori pieces in the air. He somehow got roped in by some troopling children into playing with them, though looking at his smile it doesn’t seem like they had to twist his arm. The laughter of children in the high court is rare, the last child of the high courts was Vernon himself. That was over 500 years ago now. 

Something in Soonyoung tugs at his heart a little at the sound. Maybe it’s the few sips of wine he had already sinking in making him tenderhearted. Part of him wants to do it right now, fast forward to the baby bloom in the spring or maybe travel down to the southern kingdoms where spring is happening now, just for a little bit of control. That’s not smart, Soonyoung knows that. Maybe he’ll change his hair later tonight after Samhain. Soonyoung takes Vernon’s glass out of his hand and takes a sip. Maybe he’ll do it before they leave.

Soonyoung catches him looking at him again, or more exactly looking at his teeth. Junhui, prince of the winter court, has been staring at Soonyoung's teeth since they were young. When the two talk face to face he’s courteous enough to look Soonyoung in the eye when they speak. When they interact, Junhui never brings up Soonyoung’s mouth full of pointy teeth. The moment he thinks that Soonyoung can’t see him though he’s staring at him like Soonyoung’s mouth is a wonder to behold. Every time it makes him more than a little self conscious.

“Your friend is doing it again,” Vernon nudges Soonyoung like he hasn’t already noticed. 

“With how weird he is he’s your friend not mine.'' Soonyoung pulls a face at Vernon, who mimics it back. Vernon takes to watching Mingyu play with the kids again and for a moment Soonyoung wishes to trade spots. If Vernon ever gets the guts to tell Mingyu, if they ever actually end up together, if they entered a union it would be something small. They’d have a small ceremony that would be overseen by King Seokmin without any issue. Their little union wouldn’t be reason for the Fae King himself to show up to their realm.

Soonyoung looks at Junhui. He’s no longer looking at him, instead talking to Seungkwan, the other prince of the winter court. Both have bright smiles on their faces, heads devoid of their usual crowns that sit upon their heads. It’s only at these events that they don’t wear them and Soonyoung would be lying if it didn’t make his heart rate pick up. Junhuis is a bit weird but Soonyoung’s not blind, one look at the fae and everyone can see his beauty. A regal face that normally is softened by his crown of walnuts on top of a bed of golden twigs.

Soon King Seungcheol will call for them to gather for the feast. After the feast King Jeonghan and King Joshua will announce it to the kingdom. Soonyoung preemptively warned his friends of what's to come so that nobody makes a scene that will make the kingdom think otherwise. He looks at Junhui again and wonders if he’s just as nervous as Soonyoung is. He must hide it well.

* * *

Every fall equinox is the same and has been for as long as Junhui can remember. Food stacked high on plates in the feast hall, glass flutes that refill themselves when empty, and the Park family sitting beside the king with smiles on their faces with the knowledge that their food is the best in the kingdom. Fresh, crisp fruits line the tables with braided breads and fish alongside sweet potatoes and soups, dumplings, kimchi, anything that fills and warms the belly. Most of the faes here will have a long night ahead of them in the human realm, even the high court gets to spend their equinox celebrating Samhain.

Junhui sits on his cushion and waits for Seungkwan to sit next to him before going for the food. Seungkwan always goes for the tteokguk soup first, sitting on his knees as he laddels it out for himself and the fae sitting across from him. Junhui gets a slice of the braided bread in front of him and slathers it with the nearby honey butter. There’s hardly room on the tabletop to move things around with the amount of food in front of them. Junhui looks at the mountain of food in front of him and plans to eat until he’s so round they have to roll him home like a log, again. 

The room is a buzz with talks of what everyone’s plans are for the night ahead of them and the new season that will be upon them soon. Junhui can hear Jihoon, King Seungcheol’s second hand and knight, talk about the court's plans for the equinox with someone from the court to the west. 

As important as the fall equinox is for the autumn court, that’s mostly their day and their day alone. Around the incredibly long table there is fae, troopling and high court alike, discussing their plans for the equinox later that night. Everyone else though plans their trip to the human realm for Samhain amongst themselves. One of the few times a cycle the high court is allowed to cross to the human realm just to cause mischief. 

It’s Junhui's favorite time. He gets to see not only the ways the human realm has changed but he sometimes gets sweets out of the deal too. He gets to put a costume and mingle with humans; the big ones, the little ones, the ones that have no knowledge of them and don’t see their mischief as anything more than everyday inconveniences that just happen in their life. 

Junhui had been preparing for this Samhain almost since the last one ended and he found a spell deep in Joshua’s books that would keep the eggs he would get from the market nice and fresh for as long as he wanted. His pile of eggs and classic pranks will have to e put on pause until next Samhain, however, because for the first time he won't have Seungkwan alongside him in his pranking. Seungkwan got lucky this cycle, he was going to be dressed up as one of the scarecrows that sit on Ms. An’s front porch to scare the trick or treaters that come to her door. A deal Ms. An may or may not have worked out so that she and her family lived a little longer than humanly possible, Ms An herself now pushing past 102 years old and still has the spring in her step like a 60 year old.

He would go with Minghao, prince of the autumn court, but tonight his friend will be at home with his father and other members of the autumn court lighting candles and leaving food for ancestors in the forest of night. Tonight, for the first time, Junhui will have to have a Samhain like a king does, boring and at home since they’re not allowed to enter the human realm. Maybe he’ll finish that cooking show he started the other night.  
  


There’s a clink of metal against glass that causes the room to fall silent. Everyone, including Junhui, looks at the standing figures. It's King Jeonghan,of the summer court, and King Joshua, of the winter court. Junhui's face pinches in at the sight. the two courts never interact like this, let alone the two kings.

* * *

_“Be friendly,” Joshua tells him as he tucks Junhui’s hair behind an ear, “but you are to never, never, be friends with the summer court. Our courts don’t mix. do you understand me, Junnie?”_

_Junhui wipes his eyes with a sniffle. He had just asked if he could go play with Soonyoung, both the only children in the court that were big enough to play. Seungkwan and Vernon are too little to chase around. Minghao is meditating again._

* * *

He’s only ever seen the two kings interact for court meetings. Now they stand together like long time friends with grins on their faces. Something in Junhui's stomach sinks. Whatever is going on, to announce it at the autumn equinox must mean it’s of dire importance. Something of dire importance that his dad didn’t tell him, the prince and heir, about.

“Firstly, I would like to say on behalf of our lovely autumn king, thank you everyone for coming.” Jeonghan has an air of confidence to him, always does when he speaks in front of the court. He's not like Junhui, who still stutters and sweats in front of them like a child. Joshua looks at Junhui with big eyes that have something that Junhui can’t place in them. You'd think knowing someone your entire 600 odd some life, you would know all their looks. “Secondly, winter court King Joshua and I have a wonderful announcement for you all this evening.”

“Our courts,” Joshua says in a practiced calm. They have rehearsed this. “Will be merged with a union between my son, winter court prince Junhui, and Jeonghan’s son, summer court prince Soonyoung.”

The boom of applause sounds underwater to Junhui. He flounders for Seungkwan's hand for something to keep him afloat. That beautiful, full meal he just ate threatens to return. Joshua cannot be springing this on him like this. This isn’t even something they do, arranged unions, it’s never been something that faes do. A union between faes have to be done in a place of love in order for their magic to mesh and grow together, especially a union between two faes that would require the Fae King to oversee the ceremony. Joshua knows this, he’s not dense, so why in all the realms would he do this to Junhui?

He stands to go leave, to run away from this situation and never look back. He’s heard of princes doing it in the past, Prince Jongin is said to have left the winter court and that is why Joshua became king after King Kyungsoo stepped down about 600 years ago. Jeonghan misreads the situation and motions to Sonyoung to stand as well. “To our union to be,” Jeonghan announces and starts the applause up again. Nobody in the kingdom seems to notice that the two princes are sitting on near opposite sides of the feasting hall and if they do nobody brings it up, too caught up in the joy and excitement of a high court union that crosses courts.

Junhui sits back down next to Seungkwan, who takes his hand like second nature. It’s a lifetime that the kings speak, spinning a fable for the court to believe this is their own doing. It’s not until Joshua looks at Junhui, big smile on his face, and says with confidence, “I remember when my Junhui was younger, maybe 300 years old or so, he was so enamored with Sooyoung's unseelie transformation, he couldn’t stop staring at Sooyoung's teeth! It was soon after that it came to my attention that my little Junnie had a crush on Soonyoung. Evidently, it never went away.”

Oh, Junhui is going to throw himself into the ocean with rocks tied around his ankles. That’s why Joshua is doing this to Junhui, he knows that there’s a love there, even if it’s a one sided love on Junhui’s end. Love, in any form, could cause their magic to grow and work together in a way that would strengthen the kingdom. Maybe the there’s a chance then, no matter how small and unlikely, that maybe, just maybe, that Soonyoung might have feelings for Junhui as well.

Highly unlikely, Junhui thinks, since the two have never even touched each other. Besides, a crush isn’t enough to base a union off of. There has to be more to this, Joshua has to have a reason for putting all of them in this situation. 

After the kingdom calms down the two kings sit. Seungcheol stands after a moment, he himself now announces something that falls on deaf ears as Junhui makes a break for it out of the room. He shakes with something that’s not quite range and not quite embarrassment but the ugly child of the two. He slips through a side door out to the beautiful autumn court garden to swallow mouthfuls of air. 

This isn’t happening, this isn’t _fucking_ happening. 

Junhui finds a spot in the garden that’s more grass than dirt and leans against the massive pumpkin he's next to. The autumn court is always so beautiful and bountiful with harvests of multi colored plants that dot the gardens landscape.

He sits there, amongst the gouds and persimmons, the corns and cabbage, and for a moment forgets. Forgets everything he is and everything he has to be. He is not, in that moment, prince Junhui of the winter court. He's simply a fae, in a patch of garden, breathing in the crisp autumn air. If he wanted to he could go, leave through one of the portals to the human realm and disappear into the night. Maybe he could find Jongin, maybe he would help him settle into his new life as a human. A life that about 600 years ago his human parents decided not to give him, instead offering him as a gift to the fae realm. 600 years ago, back when more people believed in faes and they actually got gifts still.

* * *

If he hadn’t been watching Junhui like he was, Soonyoung would have missed him leaving the dining hall. The whole realm is so enthralled with what King Seungcheol is saying that they miss the winter prince all but running out of the room. Not even King Joshua seems to notice his son running out of the room and through the big wooden doors that close the room off, with shocking ease and quiet despite the heft of the doors. The kingdom bursts into applause again, scaring Soonyoung out of his skin. At the head of the table King Seungcheol smiles widely and his kingdom knight Jihoon bows. Great, he’s going to have to ask Mingyu about that later.

The feast doesn’t really draw to an end, many fae are still lazily munching on various foods on the table, but King Seungcheol does announce after a while that soon the portal to the human realm will be opened for all to go to the other realm for Samhain and that those who would like to go should probably leave to get ready now. 

Beside him, Mingyu perks up and nearly vibrates with the excitement radiating off of him. Wonwoo isn’t much better. The two have a long going competition of who can get the most sweets in one night. Even Vernon is excited with his spell that will turn him into a talking horse for the night, saying his plan isn’t to let people think he’s really a talking horse but instead a costume of a horse. When Soonyoung told him that didn’t make sense and wasn’t really a prank he told him that he just didn’t have the vision.

Soonyoung stacks their small pile of plates quickly and stands to leave with his friends to prepare for Samhain when Jeonghan stops him. “Soonyoung,” he says, “why don’t you and Junhui go together this time, see how your powers interact together? The whole union would be a bust if they didn’t work well together.”

Soonyoung grumbles a little bit. He really was looking forward to Chan, Wonwoo and Mingyu pranking humans tonight and getting their sweets in the process. He agrees, nonetheless, and sets out to find the prince.

* * *

Junhui managed to make it all the way home and into his bed before someone found him. There’s a knock on the door that Junhui plans on ignoring. With Seungkwan scarecrowing tonight, his biggest plans are to watch that one cooking show, make some nice hot tea, and go to sleep at a probably laughably early time.

_Knock!_

‘Ignore it Junhui,’

_Knock!_

‘If you ignore it you can watch that human cooking show,’

_Knock!_

‘You really need to know if Chetna gets sent home or not,’

_Knock_!

“For the blessing of the Fae King,” Junhui mumbles under his breath and he stomps his way to the door. He half expected it to be Joshua to scold him for leaving the feast so soon. Maybe Seungkwan wanting help with his scarecrow outfit. He opens the door and there stands Soonyoung, still in his burnt orange hanbok. “What the fuck do you want,” it comes out a hair too accuitory but he doesn’t really care.

“The fuck I want is to see if you want to come do Samhain with us,” Soonyoung says like it’s obvious, “Vernon said that Seungkwan was scarecrowing this time and we all thought that maybe you could come with?”

The two just stare at each other. Junhui wishes he was back in the pumpkins, nobody would have found him there, especially not the fae he's apparently going to be in a union with. Did Soonyoung know beforehand? Is that why he’s reaching out now? Is he thinking he can win over Junhui like his heart doesn’t already thud in his chest when he sees Soonyoung. Hundreds of years, Junhui has had feelings for Soonyoung, a stupid crush he could never act on since their court aren’t to mix. He was told their courts weren’t to mix, so why is it now okay that they enter a union.

“Who’s we?”

* * *

Despite the fact that Soonyoung is the one who invited him to do Samhain with him and the spring court, he doesn’t seem too thrilled to have Junhui crashing the party. Bitterly, Junhui thinks that Soonyoung just needs to get used to this, him crashing his fun and all. They’re going to be in a union together for the foreseeable future. 

Soonyoung is up ahead of him beside Chan, the two loudly talking with their hands to each other. They’re alongside spring prince Mingyu and, for some reason, a talking horse. Junhui drags his feet as he follows behind them, wondering why the fuck they’re bringing a talking horse with them.

There’s movement out of the corner of his eyes that causes him to jump. The crunch of the dead leaves under his feet turns into a skid. Wonwoo, the knight of the summer court, at some point started walking beside him and now has to reach out and grab Junhui’s arm to keep him from face planting into the muck under him.

“Sorry,” Wonwoo says, “didn't mean to scare you. They tend to walk fast, especially since Vernon has four legs right now.”

Junhui’s brows pinch together without really meaning to. He looks at the horse again, or more accurately the horse’s ass. It’s not even the same chestnut as vernon’s hair but instead a pale yellow. He looks at Wonwoo half convinced that he’s being lied to.

“It’s really Vern,” Wonwoo says as if he read juns mind. “he said he wanted to go for a ‘classic fake horse look’,” he puts air quotes as he says it, “though none of us know what the hell that means. His whole thing this Samhain is that he wants humans to think he’s two people in a horse costume despite him being one actual, real, horse.” He looks at Junhui and lets out a little chuckle at the face he’s pulling. “Yeah, none of us get it either.”

Junhui looks at Wonwoo up and down for a second trying to figure out what the fuck he is. It’s apparent they had a theme for this, a theme that Junhui doesn’t match in the slightest. All of them, with the obvious exception of Vernon, are in some soft looking body suits that are decorated to look like animals. In front of him, Wonwoo has little black whiskers drawn on his face and pink on his nose. His normally round glasses have been replaced by a pair that pinch up on the sides giving them a cat eye effect, a pair of black cat ears perched on top of his head. All of them look like this but in different colors and forms with the exception of Mingyu, who looks dressed up like a brown dog with black spots, and of course Vernon, who’s a fucking horse.

“Clearly I missed the theme here,” Junhui gestures to Wonwoo. They’re almost to the entrance to the human realm, the glow from the marked tree already visible. There’s a line forming around it as other faes shuffle to get through for Samhain.

Wonwoo laughs like he made a joke. It prickles at Junhui’s skin and leaves a lump in his sternum. It’s not that the other princes of the courts have been particularly mean to him, they mostly just keep to themselves. Themselves, however, tends to make up everyone but Junhui himself. Even Minghao gets warmth from the others, Junhui wishes he was so lucky.

“Yeah, what the hell are you anyways? You look like a toddler.”

“Well,” Junhui starts, “apparently this is what the humans think we look like all the time.” He wiggles his shoulders a little for good measure just to show Wonwoo how poorly these fake little wings he has on move. Wonwoo starts laughing at the stupid little wiggle. The green dress that he’s wearing barely makes it halfway down his thigh at the longest points. The package he got this whole getup from said in big looping letters ‘Tinkerbell’, whatever the fuck that means. 

They finally inch their way to the opening to the human realm. The fall courts portal isn’t nearly as fun as the spring courts, you simply step through a big glowing tree trunk and bam you’re in the human realm. When traveling through the spring court, however, you go up to the leader of the frog consoul who opens their mouth to your size and you must step through. It’s much more imparticial, sure, but Junhui thinks it’s more fun. Plus the frog consoul leader always is fun to talk to.

They push through the crack in the tree trunk one by one and pop out on the other side in the human realm. In front of him Soonyoung rubs his little orange hands together. His black striped tail drags ever so on the ground behind him and it's already grating on Junhui’s nerves to watch. Sooyoung's sharp shark like teeth blend in near perfectly with his tiger costume, even his hair a bright orange instead of the crisp black that it was earlier in the night.

“So here’s the plan,” Soonyoung says to them all as they form a circle among themselves. Chan stays a little ways away from Junhui, enough for it to be noticeable as probably international, but Wonwoo stands right beside him. “If we break into teams we can get more candy, which is honestly all I care about right now, and it’ll be easier to shrink if we’re not in a big group.” He looks around their little heard of five with the addition of a fucking horse, “who wants to be with who?” The other faes instantly fall into chaos as they squabble over who will be stuck with Vernon for the night. Junhui didn’t join in and instead only watches as the grin on Sooyoung's face creeps slowly wider as his friends bicker in front of him. The asshole did this on purpose just to feed off the mischief it caused his friends.

“What if we do rock paper scissors?” Junhui offers just to be looked at instantly by everyone. Sooyoung's grin grows in size as he looks at Junhui, a glint in his eye that tells of trouble at the idea of rock paper scissors.

“You,” Soonyoung says pointing, “are a genius.”

it ends up Mingyu and Chan together and Junhui and Soonyoung, leaving Wonwoo with the horse.

“I don’t get why all of you are acting like being my partner is a punishment,” Vernon says. He’s got the magic almost perfect for him to look just like a horse. The only issue is when he speaks his mouth looks a little wrong, his teeth a little too big to really fit in his mouth when it’s closed. It's honestly a little unnerving if someone looked a little too long. “This is the best prank of all time!”

“Vernon,” Wonwoo asks, looking up at his trick or treating partner, “if you don’t have hands how are you supposed to get candy?”

* * *

It’s not that Soonyoung is upset at the turn of events right now, he can’t be — he's the one who said for them all to split up, but not exactly thrilled to be trick or treating with the winter court’s weirdo. Seungkwan swears up and down that his brother isn’t actually all that weird, just shy is all. Soonyoung would like to say otherwise, however, since Junhui has been staring at him ever since they were young. Never really talking to him unless prompted but always looking at him. It’s fucking weird.

Now that it’s just the two of them, the gravity of their situation seems to settle on both their shoulders and weighing them down. The air has a lingering bite of awkwardness in it that won’t go away. 

They make it maybe an hour, a whole human hour, without incident. Junhui puts a few well placed pebbles in the way of walking children so they stumble or trip and they lose some candy which the two fae can scoop up without question. Soonyoung uses his magic to appear smaller like a human child and not just smaller like faes normally are in the human realm. Him being the size of a human child means he can go right up to the door with a smiling Junhui behind him posing as a parent and the two can rake in more candy. They even acquire a few eggs from a humans backyard chicken coop that end up being tossed on the car of a man being mean to a few kids for no reason. Soonyoung figures that at this rate that they might be able to pull in the most candy of them all, especially if he can get Junhui to put a vanity on himself too.

It’s great until they get swept up in a group of parents and kids going up to this one house. There’s maybe five kids around them and a handful of adults with them. Soonyoung goes alongside the little ones as Junhui stands with the parents so as to not raise suspicion. As he trots away up the walkway Soonyoung can hear Junhui starting mischief among the parents and laughs to himself. They all get candy from the lady at the door, Soonyoung briefly changes the size of his hand back to normal in order to grab more candy, and filter back down to the waiting gaggle of parents. 

A little girl in a big ball gown comes up along Soonyoung with a wide grin on her face. “Hey,” this little girl says, “I’ll trade you for any almond joys you have.'' Soonyoung knows a good deal when he hears one. Almond joys are disgusting and, in Sooyoung's humble opinion as a fae, shouldn’t even be considered candies. He smiles ear to ear and is about to open his mouth to agree to this amazing trade when the little girl pulls back and punches him directly in the nose.

“Yah! Minkyung! What are you doing!” A woman, most likely her mother, screams as she runs towards them. Blood starts gushing out of Soonyoung’s nose, luckily Junhui scoops him up and hides his face in his chest before any of the humans can see the vibrant blue trailing down his face. “Junhui, I'm so sorry I don't know what came over her,” the mom says over the sounds of the little girl screaming about teeth.

“I’ll take Soonyoung home now, it’s okay Bora,” Junhui says and Soonyoung can feel the vibration of his words through his chest. Between that and the warmth of his hands as he holds Soonyoung close, it helps melt away the fear in Soonyoung at the idea of getting caught in the human realm. 

If faes, or any magical creature really, gets caught outside of the realm the cleaners have to come in. They wipe the memories of all the humans, a dangerous process in of itself, and every fae kingdom only has a few uses of the cleaners. According to Jeonghan, the last time the cleaners were used by their realm was when he entered the human realm to get Soonyoung as a baby. That was 600 years ago when the events of Soonyoung becoming a changling went, as Jeonghan puts it, so fucking sideways that the cleaners had to become involved. The last thing Soonyoung wants is to be the reason for the cleaners again.

The motion of walking with his head against Junhui’s shoulder as they walked out of sight from the mess they made was soothing. A part of him feels bad for making Junhui carry him but a bigger part of him is buzzing with the chaos that they caused with that situation. It always left him feeling like he had one too many cups of coffee, the buzzing of his skin and an ache in his bones that was almost addictive. 

Once they’re out of sight, Junhui dips into the tree line. Out of sight, Soonyoung feels the ground under his feet again as Junhui lowers him down.

“Make yourself normal sized, I need to look at your nose,” Junhui says as he sets Soonyoung's candy bag down on the ground. It’s a good thing he was able to grab that, Soonyoung completely forgot about it until now. 

“Ugh, you got blood on my shoulder. gross.” A little ball of snow materializes in Junhui’s hand and he wipes it on his skin. Soonyoung can’t help the way his mouth falls open at the display of magic. He can’t do anything like that with his powers from the summer court. He's never seen Seungkwan do magic outside their own winter palace. He watches as the little ball gets the blue of his blood on it and can’t help but notice how the ball of snow doesn’t melting under his finger tips.

So this is why Jeonghan wants them in a union.

“Yah, cat brain, you listening to me? Get big and let me see your nose.”

Soonyoung gathers back into his body and lets out a dramatic sigh to cover himself , “I’m not a cat, I'm a tiger.”

The process of resetting a nose broken by a small human child with a wicked sucker punch is more intimate than it needs to. Though that might just be from the way Soonyoung’s whole body lights up the moment Junhui touches his bare skin. He’s half tempted to ask if Junhui used some sort of magic on him to make him feel like a fire is licking at his rib cage when Junhui just lays a hand on his wrist. Roughly 600 years they’ve known each other, the first 300 Soonyoung spent asking to play with Junhui and the last 300 Junhui has spent looking at him, and it's only now is it dawning on to Soonyoung that prior to this night that the two have never touched. 600 years of being alive, of knowing of each other and going to the same festivals, cremonies, feasts, and never once have their hands so much as brushed. It has to be normal, Soonyoung reasons with himself, that that’s why he feels like water under Junhui's touch, ready to be made to ice with his magic. 

600 years is a long time to have never touched someone, after all.

“Okay,” Junhui says as he tips Soonyoung’s head forward, the blue blood has thankfully slowed to a light trickle. The lower half of Soonyoung’s face has to be covered, however, since Junhui is making him pull down the zipper so the top half of his costume to make sure no blood gets on it. “You’re lucky I accidentally broke Seungkwan's nose once when we were small or else we’d be fucked.”

In his hand is a long ice probe that Soonyoung really doesn’t want to think about. Junhui gets closer to Soonyoung and the deep brown of his eyes traps the air in Soonyoung’s throat, or maybe that’s from the warm hand on his chin tilting his head up. Junhui’s talking, explaining what he’s going to be doing to fix his nose, but Soonyoung can’t hear a single thing past the blood rushing in his ears. Even Junhui’s ears become a tinted red, proof to Soonyoung that he’s not the victim of some sort of magic. 

Maybe he’s in love.

Or maybe it’s just the way Junhui pinches the bridge of his nose and suddenly there’s no more pain in his body. Even the cold that nips at his exposed skin dulls away under the touch.

“Ready?” Junhui asks before shoving the ice probe up Soonyoung’s nose so quickly that nothing was able to come out of Soonyoung’s mouth. He can’t really feel the object deep in his nose, can only really feel the pressure of something in his nose. It’s a strange feeling. Junhui keeps his fingers on the bridge of Soonyoung’s nose, he can’t really feel that either. He can, however, feel a tightening in his chest when he looks up at Junhui, who’s staring him down with an intense and focused look on his face. He can’t help the giggle that leaves his lips at the sight.

“Stop laughing,” Junhui giggles out himself, “I have to focus.”

The giggles in Soonyoung’s throat dies off at the loud crunch of his nose between Junhui’s fingers and the ice probe. Heat flushes his face as Junhui lifts his hand from Soonyoung’s nose. The long probe is covered in blood (gross) before melting in Junhui’s hands and dropping to the ground. The blue blood melts away with the water into the ground. Without Junhui’s hand on him the world is a little too sharp, a little too bright, and for a moment Soonyoung wonders if he could get Junhui to touch him again.

“Why did I get punched? That's not fair, Chan totally deserves to be punched by a kid more than I do,” Soonyoung pouts. Stupid dramatics, he reasons, puts the bubble in his gut at peace. Junhui rolls his eyes at him like it’s obvious it’s just for show.

“Chan doesn’t have a mouth full of sharp teeth, you idiot. You scared the hell out of her.”

Something deep in Soonyoung twists with words. He knew when he became unseelie that his appearance would be off putting to humans, that he wouldn’t be able to so easily blend in with them like Junhui can. In the fae realm his teeth are more common, not everyone in their kingdom is an unseelie but there’s enough that he’s never felt out of place with his big sharp teeth. His teeth have never seemed to bother Junhui before. 

He’s just stupid enough to say it out loud.

From the tip of Junhui’s nose to his ears down his neck flushed a deep red as he gapes like a fish at Soonyoung. In this moment Soonyoung let’s the tables turn and openly stares at Junhui without hesitation. 

Junhui’s a bit weird. 

Maybe it’s the fact that they weren’t allowed to play together when they were young, that Joshua never let Junhui hang out with the others until Seungkwan was bigger, but Soonyoung can’t help but feel like there should have been something between the two of them. He remembers being little and asking to play with Junhui only to be denied by Jeonghan. A friendship was taken from them and now they’ve been thrown together to make a union under the geize of righting the humans wrong.

“I think they’re cool is all,” Junhui mumbles out, “I’m sorry if it’s ever made you uncomfortable.”

Maybe it's the fact that there’s a sticky feeling behind his sternum, slow and thick moving like cold honey. Maybe he just wants Junhui’s hand on him again now that he’s realized they’re missing out on 600 years of touches, of friendship, of general companionship that they now have to make up for in the form of a faux union that has to trick the Fae King. Either way Soonyoung looks up at Junhui, face still burning bright, and goes, “do you want to touch them?”

He expects Junhui to say no, to turn away from him and match back to the tree that they came through. That’s such a weird question to ask someone you hardly know ‘hey want to touch my shark teeth? The ones in my mouth?’ If the tables were turned and it was Junhui that had asked Soonyoung he’s not sure he would do it. Probably not touch the sharp teeth that would be in Junhui’s mouth, a mouth that Soonyoung has seen curved like a cat and would look so right with a row of sharp daggers hidden behind his lips. 

Despite all the logic in all the realms, Junhui wipes his hand on his dress and scoots closer to Soonyoung. Soonyoung lets his mouth fall open as Junhui inches closer and closer. There’s a thickness in the air that could smother him right now if Soonyoung tried to breathe. He doesn’t though, he holds his breath tight in his chest with screaming lungs as Junhui reaches forward just enough to touch a tooth.

Junhui pulls back and looks down at his hand that he holds in the air between the two of them. A little bud of blue blood sits on top of his finger. Soonyoung can’t help the stupid face he makes with big bugged eyes that he’s half certain are going cross. He didn’t know his teeth could draw blood that easily, he’s honestly never thought about it. He’s never let anyone touch them before.

Junhui looks up at Soonyoung with a squirrely look in his eye. For a brief moment Soonyoung can’t help but wonder if this is it, if Junhui is going to murder him here in cold blood. Junhui looks down at his finger and back up at Soonyoung. Soonyoung wishes they were closer, wishes years of friendship wasn’t stolen from them, so he could know what was going on in Junhui’s head as he stares at him with the gears in his head so clearly turning. Before Soonyoung can ask what’s going on, Junhui is making a break for it with apologizes spilling from his lips. 

Soonyoung doesn’t try to go after him.

He picks up his candy bag and goes to find his friends.

* * *

The human realm’s hard roads echo back at Junhui as he runs towards the portal back into their realm. Each slap of his plastic heel against the material alerts everyone of his location and the plastic threatens to crack under his weight. Anxiety builds in Junhui’s chest but he can’t stop running, can’t bear to turn around and see Soonyoung where he left him. 

He dips into the thick wood line on the outskirts of the neighborhood and follows the ever blooming mushroom caps to the tree. The tree's glow isn’t nearly as bright as it is in their realm, though that’s probably to help keep the humans out. Humans going into the fae realm isn’t a problem they need or want, beside if someone left a gift to them right now who would the child go to? Joshua had gotten the last two, himself and Seungkwan, would a third child be added to the mix if it happened again?

_Focus, Junhui._

He needs to get home. He needs to talk to Joshua.

  
Junhui steps over the flower petals that circle around the tree before stepping into the tree trunk. There’s the light _wop_ noise as he goes through, the only indicator to the human realm that he has left them.

* * *

According to the stories Junhui hears from other kingdoms, their winter court is weird. The winter courts, apparent to what he’s heard, are usually big and foreboding, bringing it the same sense of awe and doom that winter can bring. Most winter courts are large castles almost, classic to where the royals in their human realms would stay in. According to this tradition, their winter court should be like the human’s palace of Gyeongbokgung, with its large courtyard, sloped and pinched roofs, and multiple buildings.

Their winter court is small, instead, cozy like a cottage. It does have something in common with Gyeongbokgung, there’s multiple buildings scattered around. The main building, where they host meaning, and various little homes for the members of the high court. They blend in with the houses of the trooplings that sit at the hilltop, safe from accidental landslides or avalanches. Junhui knocks on the door of Joshua's small home and waits at the noises of Joshua making his way to the door.

“Junhui, hey, come in!” Joshua turns away from the door and sits back down in front of the pot on the table. Snowflakes bubble up from the pot and frost covers the table around it. “I heard you and Soonyoung went to the human realm together for Samhain, how was it?” Joshua’s quick to return to making the snow mixture for the upcoming winter. 

Junhui just looks down at him, internal debate on sitting beside him. No. He needs to start this from up here, have a little upper hand on his father. 

“Why do I have to enter a union with Soonyoung?”

“You heard us at the feast, to combine our courts' powers. You know that the autumn and spring courts are losing their power because of the humans.” Joshua doesn’t look up from the pot. He reaches across the table and grabs a thing vile full of bubbles before popping the cork with a _pop!_

“Why me though?” Junhui almost wants to stomp his foot. He feels ridiculous, like when he was small and Seungkwan got to go to the human realm without him, again, or when he’d asked to go play with Soonyoung. Only now he’s trying his best to hide from Joshua and keep his feelings under control. He's not small anymore, he’s next in line to be king of the winter court and needs to start acting like it. Even if this is about his entering of a union with fae he hardly knows. The separation ceremony isn't too hard to do, though it would drain them both for a while of teri magic. “Seungkwan's just as powerful as me and he’s already friends with Soonyoung’s friends, it’d be easier for them to get along and their magic to grow together.”

“But Seungkwan didn’t come to us under the same sun like you and Soonyoung did. You’re both gemini suns _and_ venuses, that increases your power as a couple.” Joshua has _that_ tone to his words, one that makes Junhui feel like a small child who asked a stupid question again. One that tries to shut the conversation down before Junhui can ask more questions. 

Junhui takes to crossing his arms across his chest and stomps his foot a little. This is stupid. He knows there’s no getting out of this now, not with them having just told the whole kingdom about it. He wants to just go to his house and stew in his own feelings until he has to enter a union with Soonyoung. He knows it’d be easier to do that, but he can’t stop his mouth from opening and getting the final word in on this situation as stupid as it is. He can never get in the final word with Joshua, never has. “It's not my fault I was gifted in June instead of winter like Kwannie was.” 

Joshua stops stirring the pot, hand hanging in the air limply before he finally turns to look at Junhui. “Junnie,” Joshua says his name slowly like he’s worried Junhui’s not going to hear him despite it being only the two of them in the room, in the whole damn house, “honey, you weren’t a gift.”

“Yes I was.” Junhui is firm in his statement. His brows may furrow in confusion but he’s never been more sure of something in his life. “You told me I was originally born in the human realm and that I became fae like Seungkwan did. Unless you lied and got me from the spring courts baby bloom, I had to be a gift.”

* * *

_Joshua sits with the little yellow blanket in his arms at the kitchen table while he looks over Junhui standing in his chair stirring the spoon in the big metal pot. The snow falls up from the pot and joins the late Yule decor that still hangs around the house. There's a crackle of the fire place not too far away and the sounds of a song that plays from Joshua’s little music box._

_From the little yellow blanket comes a noise that calls the attention of the both of them. The baby sits in Joshua’s arm with his nose still pink from the snow outside, not a cry but a gentle coo that startles Junhui._

_“Daddy,” Junhui looks over his shoulder to look at the baby, “Is he okay?” Joshua nods and starts to bounce the baby in his arms with a soft smile on his lips. Junhui puts the wooden spoon down and turns to look at his father and the baby in his arms. “Daddy, where did I come from? Do you still have my bud like Cheollie did Haohao’s?”_

_Joshua shakes his head and looks up to his son with something the young fae couldn’t quite put a name to. “You were born in the human realm, like this little baby here, and I brought you home and you’ve been my Junnie ever since.”_

* * *

Joshua shakes his head. The wooden spoon gets put on a napkin that freezes and turns to ice at the touch and the heavy pot lid gets put over the snowing pot. “Junhui, you were chosen. I picked you from a human family when you were a baby because I knew you could be so powerful.”

The rug gets pulled out from under Junhui for the second time today. It doesn’t matter that Joshua used the softest, sweetest voice in his arsenal, the one that he uses when Junhui knows he’s trying to get his way in meetings with other court kings, it doesn’t take away the sting of the bombshell that Joshua just dropped

“I’m,” Junhui stares at Joshua with his mouth wide as he struggles to collect his thoughts. Thoughts that struggle to break through the mush of his brain right now. “I’m a changeling?” Junhui shakes his head like the movement will get thoughts moving along. It doesn’t, “No, you’re lying. You have to be, we’re not allowed to take kids.”

“Why would I lie about where you came from?” Joshua shakes his head this time, a vague annoyance coming off of Joshua in slightly stronger waves each time they crash again Junhui. “You’re the last changeling in our kingdom. Seungkwan was a gift to the winter court. You’re both of human origin who became not only fae but winter court princes, do you understand?”

Junhui wants to sink into a ball. Joshua looking at him like he’s too dense to understand all this doesn’t help the feeling. He can’t believe he’s a fucking _changeling_ , stolen from a human life and replaced with another who got to live in his place. Junhui isn’t jealous, how could he be jealous over a life that would have ended by now, over a life he never knew he could have had, but it doesn’t change the fact that there’s a sinking feeling in his gut. Doesn’t stop the tears that want to well up and threaten to fall down his face as he stands in front of Joshua and won’t dare let them fall.

“Just so you know, I didn’t want to do this,” Joshua lets the heavy lid clammer as he sets it on the table and starts stirring the potion again, “An arranged union that crosses high courts like this is so risky for all of us, that I never would have agreed to it, but then Seungcheol brought up what happened to Atlantis and the fact you both have Gemini placements would make your union very powerful.” 

“No, you don’t get to change the topic like that.” Junhui doesn’t mean to let anger drip into his voice like that but he can’t help the way it happens, “You’re the king, you can’t go into the human realm during your reign. It had to been easier to get a baby from the spring bloom, why go steal one from the human realm?” 

For a brief moment Junhui feels guilt when Joshua tenses up.Jun watches his fingers shake, something so small he wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t spent 600 years with him. Joshua recovers quickly, so quickly, and continues the stirring of the pot. He picks up another vial to pour it into the pot and for a moment Junhui thinks that that’s it, that’s the end of the conversation. That Joshua is going to ignore the problem and wait for it to go away, something that he has a nasty habit of doing even though Junhui and Seungkwan both have pointed out that it’s annoying _and_ toxic as hell.

“I wasn't king yet,” his voice is quiet, meek almost. If there was any noise in the room, Junhui probably wouldn’t have heard it. But he did, loud and clear. it bounces off the walls and leaves them in its wake. “I was appointed shortly after I brought you home. And don’t say you were stolen, that makes it sound wrong. I chose you, I picked you to be my son.”


	2. Get in the Fucking Frog Pit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vocabulary  
> chima - the skirt part of a hanbok  
> gudeul - a heating system built into the floors 
> 
> so im lazy so at no point is this fic actually beta'd before it goes up. my friend reads it and tells me places i fucked up and then i fix it from there. if you see anything please let me know! again if you have questions about what a word means please ask! also im naming these chapters after memes, or what my friends are calling 'cold honey spoilers without context' so have fun with that.

Junhui is single handedly the biggest baby in the realm and has been since, well, forever probably. He’s been staying holed up in his cottage now for the last two weeks. He’s going to have to leave soon to help the winter take in the human realm but for now he’s content with moving from his bedroom to the little sitting area to the kitchen all day. It helps waste the days away and put space between himself and what happened on Samhain. Maybe if he stays inside long enough Soonyoung will forget the whole thing happened and won’t bring it up when Junhui shows up for the ceremony. 

Eventually, he knows he needs to face the music. Because no matter what he does, he’s going to be in a union with Soonyoung just like no matter what he does he’s going to be the king of the winter realm. And just like being king, he’s not sure that this is something he can do.

Joshua’s been making enough choices for him, he figures he can make this one.

It’s on day 16 of Junhui not going outside that Minghao shows up.

Junhui’s in the kitchen holding on to a tea cup like it’s his only source of life, fingers overlapping as he coddles it close to his mouth and breathes in the whips of steam. Minghao doesn’t bother knocking, just opens Junhui's door, kicks off his snow covered boots at the doorway and unwraps the scarf from around his neck. The fall court stays cool with a chill that stays just on the right side of needing a jacket to those from the spring or summer courts. Junhui’s seen faes from the other courts show up in thick jackets that turn them into giant walking circles that can see past their scarves and the fur that lines their hoods. Times like this, where a cup of tea is the only thing that makes him feel alive, he kinda wishes that his friend needed more than a little extra warmth just for laughs.

“Nobody’s heard a word from you since Samhain,” Minghao says, “I was half convinced you died in the human realm.” He walks up to the shelf with other cups and pours himself a cup from the kettle. The two stand in silence letting the ginger green tea warm Minghao’s frozen fingers.

“Shit,” Junhui swears, “I don’t have any honey, sorry.” Minghao waves his hand at him and reaches into the inner part of his jacket before he pulls out a little jar with a tight black lid.

“You act like I don't carry it on me,” Minghao says, pouring honey out of the jar and into his tea, “you’ve known me for how many centuries? You know Seokminnie never leaves me without some.” Minghao looks up at him with a little glint in his eye, an almost smile on his lips at the thought of the spring king.

“You’ve had Seokmin wrapped around your little finger since we were 200, you could ask him for anything and he’d give it to you.”

The spring king is technically only a few years older than them, not centuries. It's rumored he’s the youngest king ever in their realm. Some sort of mess up held the old spring king, king Sehun, from stepping down after he served 1000 years and only within the last 100 years was Seokmin able to take the throne. Junhui thinks about the 400 between him and his turn on the throne. He drinks his tea to hide his shudder.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Minghao tightens the lid on the jar and puts his honey back in his pocket. Junhui watches as he swirls his finger above the liquid and the whirlpool that follows it. “Why have you been holed up since Samhain?”

Well, Junhui knew that was coming.

He debates on lying. He could say he’s come down with something he’s just got over, but Joshua worries over him whenever Junhui so much as sneezes and starts pumping him full of juices and potions to wade off anything. If he’d been sick, Minghao would have known. He could say he’s left the cottage, many times in fact, and that he has no idea what Minghao is talking about.Expect that his skin has started glowing with a gross grey behind it like he is ill from his lack of sun or even moon light. The idea of blaming it all on that stupid human cooking show passes his mind but he and Minghao share the program it’s watched on and his friend would know he’s lying.

“Something,”Junhui starts with his head tilted to the side like tilting his brain will help knock the memories he’s been trying to repress loose. “Something happened, Haohao.” He realizes after it leaves his mouth that he sounds maybe a bit dramatic but he doesn’t really care. It sounds like it’s the end of the world and to Junhui, right here at this moment, it is. He wants to skip over this, whatever this is exactly, and be retired already. He wants to sit on the edge of the winter court and watch the animals go by in the spring. Maybe he’ll pick up knitting when he’s no longer king, knitting seems like fun.

“Unless you died and someone had to bring you back I don’t know why you’re being so dramatic.”

Junhui rolls his eyes and starts to tell his friend what happened at Samhain. How he had gone and hid in the pumpkin patch behind the fall kingdoms feasting room. Big pumpkins that could hide a whole full sized fae, maybe more if they were stacked like fish at the market. He had sat and cried like a baby fresh from their bud against one of these huge pumpkins for a little bit but got up and ran home when he heard a second thunderous applause in the building. The rest, well you know.

At some point in telling Minghao this Junhui's eye became fixated on the cup in his hands, unmoving and unblinking, as he retells popping Soonyoung's nose back into place and the tense that swarmed the air in that moment. When he finally pulls his eyes away from the tea in his hand and looks up to his friend, Minghao is just staring at him.

In moments like these, where Minghao just stares at Junhui, which happens more often than he would like to admit, it’s obvious that his friend resembles a frog. It’s in the best, cutest, way possible that Junhui calls him a frog. It reminds him why Seungcheol barred him from talking to the frog console. The one time they did see Minghao one of the frogs got all of them worked up and yelling about how Seungcheol had taken one of their children and turned him into a fae. Never mind that faes cannot actually do that, Seungcheol had to sit down and explain that he was the one who got Minghaos bud from the next kingdom over during their baby bloom. That Minghao is, in fact, Seungcheol’s child. The frogs were never convinced.

“You’re a damn idiot,” Minghao says as he puts his cup down, “hand to the fae king, you're an idiot. You’ve had a crush on Soonyoung since forever and at the first chance for a possible in with him you run away? You run the fuck away? Why?”

Minghao came out of his bud under the scorpio sun. That, Joshua had told Junhui when he was growing up, was why Minghao is so blunt. After growing up partially in the fall kingdom's court with Minghao as his only friend other than his own brother, Junhui likes to think that Seungcheol had something to do with it, what with his leo sun.

“I freaked out!” Junhui almost ends up yelling it at him, “I go from staring at him longingly from across the room at the autumn ball to having him look at me like that while I put his broken nose back into place! And!” Junhui starts waving his hands around haphazardly and without reservation for his full cup of tea, “Then he asked me if I want to touch his teeth!” Junhui pushes off the counter and just starts walking, only he wants to stay by Minghao so he just ends up pacing in the kitchen in front of him. He keeps waving his cup of tea around wildly, the liquid threatening to spill over the lip of the cup with every gesture as he rants and raves his anxieties to Minghao.

“The worst part is!” Junhui really is yelling now with all the energy in his body coming out in this anxious moment, “for a moment I could actually see us maybe working! An actual union that actually works and where we really love each other! But no! It’s fake!”

Junhui stops cold in his tracks at the realization. That's why he’s been hiding in his cottage, why he hasn’t left and has been scared to even step out of the door. If he leaves his cottage it’s real, life is real and actually happening to him. If he leaves, he really has to deal with the fact that there’s a possibility, no matter how slim, that Soonyoung could fall in love with him. That his one sided unrequited love will be reciprocated. The feeling of longing that he’s known so well for so long in his chest wouldn’t be there anymore. That terrifies him.

“Stop self destructing,” is all Minghao says while he leaves the kitchen and moves to Junhuis' living room. “Did you keep watching  _ Charmed  _ without me?” He shouts from the room leaving Junhui with nothing but his thoughts in the kitchen by himself. Junhui gets his kettle and moves his feet into the small sitting room where Minghao is already planted on the floor with a blanket wrapped around himself, still nursing his cup of tea.

“Only one or two episodes, don’t worry Piper is still pregnant.” Junhui plops down next to his friend and Minghao wraps the blanket around him. He refreshes both their cups before placing the kettle on the ground nearby. Junhui’s going to have to go back to reheat it a few times unless Minghao gets okay with drinking cold tea really quick. Dimly, Junhui thinks that if Soonyoung was here he could use his powers to warm the kettle instead of him having to use the fire from the stovetop. Junhui shakes the thought from his head.

“It's so weird how humans have babies,” Minghao says, “could you imagine if we have to carry the baby like that  _ and  _ they come out basically useless anyways? I mean, they can’t even crawl! What’s the point!”

* * *

It's two days later when there's a knock on Junhui’s door. He left the cottage yesterday to go into town for food, the crumbs in his cupboard could no longer suffice. He was getting ready to go to Seungkwan's cottage so they could go to the main building together so the winter court could start planning for the upcoming season with the fall and spring courts. For a moment he thinks it’s Seungkwan but his brother has never once knocked on his door and he doesn’t see him starting now at 500.

Junhui’s fingers tug the sleeve of his sweater down over his hands as he makes his way to the door. The second it cracks, Junhui wants to slam it shut. He wants to bolt it close, tuck a chair under the knob, and sit in his locked bathroom with his head between his knees screaming. He can’t though. Junhui has to face his shit.

“Hi Soonyoung,” he hopes the smile reaches his eyes and doesn’t look too manic, “I was just heading out, what’s up?” 

Soonyoung smiles apologetically at him and motions if he can come in. Junhui watches his teeth chatter for a moment in the snow of the winter court. He's wearing a short sleeve shirt and pants, the fool. Junhui moves aside to let him into his cottage. He's going to end up a little late to the meeting but he hopes that the rest are understanding. After all, this is the fae that Junhui is going to be entering a union with.

“I, uh, I wanted to say I’m sorry for how things went on Samhain.” Fucking Samhain, Junhui’s so tired of hearing about Samhain. He’s replayed the moment in the woods over and over in his head for the last two weeks. He's analyzed every single thing that Soonyoung did and everything he himself did. He doesn’t want to hear or even think about Samhain until it’s time for it again. Maybe next time he’ll be able to go with Seungkwan instead.

“I'm sorry that I got punched by a small child and when you went to fix my nose that I made it weird.” Soonyoung looks down at his feet like he’s a child being scolded. He's still in the entrance of Junhui’s cottage with his shoes on. The way he’s speaking makes Junhui think that maybe these aren’t his words but someone else told him how to handle the situation. He's doing better than Junhui at least, who’s plan to deal with it was to just ignore it and maybe avoid Soonyoung until the union ceremony.

“I think,” Soonyoung says, finally meeting Junhui’s eye. There’s something there in his eyes, something Junhui can’t quite place but makes his chest is compact. “Maybe we should try to be friends and hopefully by our ceremony we’re close enough to do the tree ritual, you know?”

No, Junhui doesn’t know. He knows nothing about what he’s about to have to do when entering this union. All he does know is that the fae king doesn’t officiate any regular union, that most unions don’t have the tasks they’ll have to do prior to the ceremony. Most unions at least have people in attendance, not just three faes in the woods somewhere.

Junhui doesn’t say any of this to him. He doesn’t even give him an inkling of an idea that this is what he’s thinking. Instead he nods his head, hopes his smile isn’t as off putting as it feels on his lips, and goes, “yeah, we can try friends.”

* * *

Spending more time together to try to be friends is hard when Junhui's in the middle of trying to make winter take. Lately the hardest parts of the winter are the start and stopping of snow, something that isn’t due to happen for a little longer but the preparation for it is exhausting. He gets up in the morning, drinks his tea, gets dressed, and has to head out to various spots in their human realm to help winter take. It’s the cusp of the two seasons, fall finally turning into winter.

Soonyoung has an idea that he thinks is wonderful. He should come along while Junhui starts stripping trees of their final leaves, starts making the clouds thick and heavy as they line the sky in a grey overcast. Junhui agrees because he doesn’t want Soonyoung thinking he’s not trying but it’s going to be awful. Whenever he has someone with him for these kinds of things, it feels like too much, an annoyance sits just under his skin itching away until he ends up snapping in frustration. It's bad enough that they’re trying to tape together a relationship that allows their magic to work together well enough to pull off their union ceremony, you can’t exactly become friends when you yell at the other for standing too close to you while you tell all the birds they have to move for winter.

When Soonyoung shows up at Junhui's doorstep one morning in a jacket and pants, both probably too thin for him by the way he shakes like a leaf in the breeze, Junhui really has nobody but himself to blame.

* * *

Winter is weird.

Okay that sounds bad. Especially since he’s going to be in a union with one of the winter court princes. It’s just that he’s not used to seeing nature like that. He's from the summer court, everything is green and warm and he doesn’t have to wear shoes when he walks in the grass in the summer court if he doesn’t want to. It's a big difference to what he has to do when he goes into the winter court. 

The last time that Soonyoung was in the winter court he had worn the wrong thing. The short sleeve and the pants he wore was nowhere near enough for him to be warm in the permanent snow of the winter court. When he came back to the summer court, the sun had warmed his skin to the point that it burned him. He wore the thickest jacket he could get his hands on, which wasn’t nearly enough for the winter realm.

He follows Junhui down a dirt path in the human realm. The grass doesn’t quite yet crunch under his steps but the leaves do. The trees look like skeleton hands reaching up to the sky when they’re devoid of greenery. Like he said, it’s weird. Before they left, Junhui handed him another jacket, this one thick enough that the winter doesn’t bite at Soonyoung through the material. He pretends the strong smell of cinnamon wafting off of it doesn’t make his chest weird and tight.

They never really talked about what happened that night. Sure, Soonyoung apologized and they decided to work on becoming friends but nothing really past that was ever discussed. Soonyoung doesn’t know how to say ‘sorry for creating weird sexual tension over a broken nose’ without explicitly saying those words. 

His biggest fear? What if that feeling that blanketed all of his senses in nothing but want and closeness? What if it was all just on him? What if Junhui didn’t feel that spark of warmth that spread like wildfire in Soonyoung’s veins?

So, yeah, they haven’t talked about it.

The air between them is thick again. Thick with an awkward tension that Soonyoung could cut with a knife and eat for a snack. Maybe he forgot to eat this morning. It’s not important.

Junhui suddenly veers to the left to a tree still full of red and orange leaves sticking out like a sore thumb among the patchy or bare ones. Soonyoung nearly passed him because of how sharp of a moment it was. Instead, he stops his feet in time and stands beside Junhui. Soonyoung watches in wonder as Junhui simply touches the tree and the leaves start falling one by one around them. Junhui does a hand motion, his two hands tumbling over each other quickly, and a sharp breeze picks up that causes the leaves to flutter by soonyoung. The breeze is so sharp he can feel his cheeks heat up with the coldness it. He knows it’s making him pink, not like Junhui’s cheeks that stay the same no matter how cold it gets.

“Seems like you have a lot of winter duties,” Soonyoung says just as a leaf whacks him in the forehead. Junhui makes a face, his lips twist as he bites back a laugh at the sight. Soonyoung struggles to remove the one leaf off his forehead just for another to hit him again. This time, Junhui actually laughs at him. It causes a weird feeling in his chest, like it’s tight but in a good way, warm despite the cold around him. He takes the leaf off his head again.

“I'm just helping her along,” Junhui says with a slight smile. His eyes seem to shine and glimmer when he looks up at the tree that’s shedding. 

Soonyoung follows him further down the narrow dirt path. He can’t help but notice the few things of greenery that clings to life. It’s early enough in the season and Soonyoung can’t help the ting of mourning with the knowledge that it’ll be dead soon. It’ll be up to seokmin and the rest of the spring court to bring them back to life.

“You get to do so much,” Soonyoung says, “we mostly just keep up what the spring court does.” He keeps talking even though he knows that Junhui doesn’t give a shit. The tension that has been sitting on them has lightened a little but he still struggles to move through it. His mouth keeps moving, because why not? “I get to make a flower bloom once a season though. We get to prick the clouds when they get heavy and make it rain.”

Junhui looks over his shoulder at him when he says that. Soonyoung smiles shyly at him, hyper aware of everything that comes out of his mouth.

“I love those flower blooms, you do those?” 

All Soonyoung can do is nod, not trusting his voice. 

The two end up at the edge of a lake, little waves go and wash softly up at shore. A gaggle of ducks sit in the middle of the water talking among themselves. Their voices are just loud enough that Soonyoung can hear bits and pieces of what they’re saying, something about a swan?

Junhui sighs deeply before reaching down and touching the water, which freezes under his palm. Junhui turns around and looks at Soonyoung before nodding forward, a sort of ‘come on’ motion. “Junhui, I can’t walk on the ice. You shouldn’t walk on the ice, that's not safe, you're going to fall and eat shit.” Junhui simply arches an eyebrow at him before stepping firmly onto the ice, the water around him freezing with his step. He looks at Soonyoung before reaching forward and yanking him on the ice alongside him.

“Fuck!” Soonyoung yells as his legs scramble for balance under him. The ice is super slick and the fact that Junhui can just simply stand on the ice without problem makes Soonyoung’s brain hurt. Junhui ends up grabbing him by the elbow, helping with his balance but warming him in the process. It’s mind boggling how incredibly warm Junhui's touch makes his body so fast. It’s like the simple touch lights a fire in his bones. It’s addicting the way the feeling flushes over his body. He wants Junhui to keep touching him, keep holding him, and letting the warm feeling wash over him again and again.

Obviously he’s been touched in his 600 years of living a life. It’s not like Jeonghan has kept him in a bubble in the court. The amount of times he gets slapped by Mingyu on his way down to the ground with laughter on his lips has left him with a semi permanent green bruise on his shoulder. As soon as he was big enough, Chan would try to get Soonyoung in a headlock to take him down. Jeonghan tucked his hair when it was too long behind his ear, placed his boysenberries crown on his head, and sent him on his way. Being touched, casually as an arm thrown around a friend and as intimate as a hand on a lover, is something soonyoung knows.

He’s just not sure why something as simple as a touch of a hand on his elbow, of a hand under his chin, makes him feel like he’s burning from the inside out. 

“Shuffle your feet, I have to talk to these ducks,” Junhui starts to tug on Soonyoung’s elbow but he plants his feet against the ice the best he can, he still gets a little moment forward. “You can either let me pull you or you can stay here and get bored by the time I’m halfway there. Either way I have to go tell these ducks they have to move.” He pulls Soonyoung forward and lets his feet slide against the ice, “if you don’t at least lock your knees up you’ll fall and bust your face. Straighten up, I won't let you fall.”

“If I fall I'm taking you out and biting you,” Soonyoung says on reflex, a hollow threat to bite his friends is always on the cusp of his lips. Junhui doesn’t laugh like his friends do when he jokes with them. He doesn’t even know if Junhui even heard him with how strong the wind is whipping past his ears this far off the shore of the lake. It stings his cheeks and the tips of his ears as it sails by him and brings a red to his cheek, if how warm his cheeks feel is anything to go off of. Then he hears it, it almost gets taken away on the wind and carried off. Junhui almost gets away with saying it without him hearing it, which if Soonyoung had to guess was probably his plan in the first place given how quietly he had spoken.

“Don’t tempt me.” There's so much for Soonyoung to unpack in those three little words. Nobody's ever said that to him in response to his hollow threat. He'd be lying if he said it didn’t spark something in his gut, something he doesn’t want to deal with right now. The last time that feeling reared its head with Junhui, Soonyoung was left alone in the human realm. He doesn’t know where the portal back home is this time, he really can’t let things get like that again.

By the time they make it to the ducks there’s a system in place between the two of them. Junhui pulls him along behind him and Soonyoung keeps his back straight, knees locked and curved into one another. Soonyoung also doesn’t asked about half way if there's a way for them to conger a sled or something along those lines that makes it easier for Soonyoung to move around, because if he does Junhui will stop walking and look at him without saying a word and Soonyoung will get the overwhelming feeling that he’s going to be thrown into the water. so Soonyoung instead keeps his mouth shut and the two come to a stop in front of the gaggle of ducks.

“Prince Junhui!” one of them says, “are you because of what that swan said? The humans of this area of him the demon swan, you know, because he’s so mean and bites everyone so really we were protecting ourselves. He was-”

Damn, this duck talks more than Soonyoung. They’re still rambling on about this swan, who they watched bite a child the other day and then stole a family's lunch. Junhui just stands there and looks at the duck, listening apparently as they go on and on about this evil swan that, as the duck says, ‘just needs to be dealt with.’ To Soonyoung it kind of sounds like this duck wants them to just kill this swan, which is fucked up and not something faes even do.

“I’ll see what I can do about the swan, Gyeom, but I actually need to talk to you guys about having to move to a different lake,” he winces the second Junhui’s done speaking to them at the sound of honks from the ducks. The flock of about 20 ducks or so all start honking angrily at the two of them, some spreading their singing and flapping at the news. The waves it causes moves the ice under Soonyoung’s feet and he grips to Junhui for dear life. His hands move from where they were originally at his forearm up to his shoulders. There isn’t time for there to be any tension between them because the ice behind starts to creak with the motion under them.

“Ya! We do this every year!” Junhui yells over the honking, “you know this lake is scheduled to freeze every year!” The honking continues, as does the splashing. Soonyoung squeezes Junhui's shoulders tight as the ice under them quivers. He’s going to fall into the water and these ducks are going to eat him. That’s it, this is his end. “You just have to move a few miles south!” Junhui continues to shout, “you can stay there for the entire winter, no lakes or ponds are scheduled to freeze there!”

There's a low sound and then a cracking noise as the ice behind Soonyoung separates from the ice bridge Junhui made. He turns to see the trail of ice behind them break off and float away from each other. Their little ice island rocks dangerously as the ducks continue their incessant flapping. Soonyoung’s feet feel like they're going to escape from under him at any point and send himself and Junhui into the water. The rougher the water gets the tighter Soonyoung’s hands get on Junhui, a particularly big wave from the ducks has him moving his hands away from Junhui's shoulders completely and he’s instead half bent as he wraps his arms around Junhui’s waist.

Then Junhui stomps.

He feels the movement of Junhui’s leg and the way that the ice under them shakes with energy. There’s a noise again, almost that of a blade on metal, loud and piercing in his ear.  _ This  _ is it, Junhui's going to kill him for touching him like this. Soonyoung’s too terrified to enjoy the warmth from him or wax mental poetry over the closeness of their bodies. He’s going to fucking die because of these stupid ducks.

The noise stops and there’s only silence in its wake. The ice under them is still. ‘He killed the ducks,’ Soonyoung thinks, ‘he lost his patience and he killed the ducks and the Fae King is going to come kill us both before we can have our ceremony.’ He keeps his eyes welled tightly shut.

“Hey!” Someone shouts. It’s not Junhui, it’s not soonyoung, and if all the ducks have just been killed then it has to be a human. A human saw their magic. Oh this is bad, this is really bad. “Unfreeze us! Let us go!”

Soonyoung finally opens his eyes again. The ducks are all alive and well in front of him, the lake around them is frozen solid. He looks down under his feet and sees a fish swim by, okay so not wholly solid but solid enough that the ducks can’t move.

“I’ll let you go if you leave this lake,” Junhui says, “and you apologize for scaring Soonyoung here because he’s clearly shit himself!” Soonyoung’s cheeks heat up again, not from the wind this time. There’s no wind, like even it’s listening to Junhui at this moment. Embarrassed, Soonyoung unloops his arms from around Junhui’s waist and stands up. Junhui is only a little taller than Soonyoung but right now it feels like he towers over him. It's like being around Mingyu. Only Mingyu doesn’t spark something in his gut, doesn’t light a fire in his bones when they touch, Mingyu doesn’t set his anxieties at ease like this.

There's a chorus of variations of sorry from the ducks. Junhui waits for the final duck to apologize before reaching down and touching the ice under them. Soonyoung is once again reminded of the power Junhui has as he watches the ice in front of them melt. The entire lake melts apart from the ice under their feet and their path back to the shore. Without another word, the ducks get in formation and leave the lake behind. Junhui turns to look at Soonyoung once they’re in the sky, looks him up and down in a way that isn’t subtle at all in the slightest, before asking, “can you walk back or am I pulling you again?” 

Soonyoung makes a sound that communicates absolutely nothing. It’s not that he doubts the stability of the ice under him but he does doubt the stability of his own two feet. He knows if he gets back to shore on his own it’ll be because he crawled on his hands and knees along the long ice. He also knows that if he agrees to let Junhui pull him that it means being touched, obviously, and he’s not sure if he can convince his body to not get a boner after that display of power on Junhui's part combined with the mind numbing warmth that’s spreads through his body at the simplest of touch from him.

In the end Soonyoung makes it a little more than halfway across the ice on his hands and knees shuffling slowly on the ice before Junhui gets tired of waiting on the shore for him and gets him.

“I can do it on my own! I’m so close!” Soonyoung insists but Junhui isn’t listening to him and grabs him by his hoodie.

“Does this hurt?” Junhui asks. Soonyoung shakes his head no, it doesn’t hurt at all. Then Junhui starts to pull him along by the hood and it still doesn’t physically hurt but it’s a hard hit to his ego.

By the time they get to shore, Junhui’s annoyance is a mailable thing that hangs in the air. The second that Soonyoung is on land, Junhui is away from him, not walking away just not near him any more. Soonyoung pulls himself up and slowly makes his way towards Junhui. it feels like a death march almost with the feeling that sits in Soonyoung's chest. Next to Junhui now, he can see him taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down.

“I’m not mad at you,” Junhui's voice isn't the loudest, almost a whisper to himself, “I'm on a schedule and the ducks took a lot longer than I thought they would. I’m sorry if I’m taking it out on you.” He looks at Soonyoung and smiles weakly. Though it doesn’t manage to reach his eyes, Soonyoung still appreciates the sentiment.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Soonyoung finds himself asking in a soft voice, like the world will crash and burn around the two of them if he’s any louder. Junhui stops for a second before looking up at the clouds above them. They’re not particularly heavy but sit with a light grey.

“Could you cause a rain?” Junhui asks almost like he’s scared that Soonyoung is going to say no. He doesn’t though, Soonyoung nods and sets off to find a stick. He remembers leaving this morning and looking at his rain kit but deciding against it, after all who would have known that he was going to be needed to start a rain in the first place. His long rain needle sits in his room but a pointy enough stick will work as well. It takes a moment to find a stick long enough to cause a hole in the clouds but not too big to cause a thunderstorm.

Finally, with the stick in hand, Soonyoung can push up off the ground. He goes tiny as he makes his way up into the sky so any humans don’t notice him. The grey of the cloud and the size of the stick will only cause a light rain but hopefully that’s enough for Junhui. He puts his hand to the cloud for leverage before poking the stick through. The water in clouds is deeper inside than most faes think and it takes a few tries sometimes even to get to it. When water starts running down Soonyoung’s arm he can pull the stick out and start making his way back down to the ground.

He looks below and can see Junhui clear as day on the ground looking up at him. There’s a glint in his eye as he looks at Soonyoung that makes him warm. Soonyoung’s the prince of the summer court, he’s stood alongside Jeonghan throughout countless ceremonies and various events where it’s all eyes on them. He has stood in front of the entire kingdom and not even stutter as he spoke. Here though, as he’s coming back to the ground, Junhui is looking at him in such a way that it brings a blush to his cheeks. He’s so aware that he's the certain of Junhui’s attention, too aware that he’s being watched like he hung the moon and the stars. 

Junhui is looking at him, he always is, but for once it doesn’t feel weird. Has he always looked at Soonyoung this way? Has Soonyoung been too self involved to realize that Junhui doesn’t look at him like a creature does it’s prey but as, dare he say, a lover? Could Junhui be a lover to Soonyoung? At the autumn feast Joshua mentioned that Junhui has had a crush on Soonyoung but he figured that was for effect, to sell it to the rest of the kingdom. What if Joshua wasn’t lying.

* * *

  
  


The winter equinox tends to be a big deal for the court. Most of the time the equinox ends up falling on the king's bud day, meaning Joshua really brings the party when it comes to their yule ball. The winter court’s main building isn’t used much outside of meeting Joshua has with others, causing the empty building to crave the attention it gets at this time. When it’s time to deck the halls of the main building it preens with delight and glows under the attention of the whole kingdom.

It’s possible that Junhui is a little biased but the winter equinox really is his favorite out of all the seasons. Maybe it’s the way the day start, warm and slow at Joshua's cottage around cups of coffee and tea, hotteok, hot rice and soup. A few years ago they started adding movies to their equinox mornings. This morning they spent hours watching some human movies before going their separate ways. 

Junhui didn’t mean to lay down for long, he was just so full of hot tea and warm food that he wanted to curl into his warm bed for a little while. 

“Junhui!” Seungkwan opens the front door of the cottage, “Junhui are you ready to go? We’re going to be late.” 

Junhui jolts awake at the commotion coming towards his bedroom, rolling over onto his side and pulls the blanket over his head. 

“Why are you sleeping?” Seungkwan’s voice manages to bounce off every surface possible, “we’re going to be late, come on.” Junhui struggles to lift his skull that feels like the heaviest thing in the realm. Vaguely, he sees Seungkwan out of the corner of his eye rushing around his bedroom. Pulling himself up so he can sit up in bed, he watches Seungkwan buzz around the room like a toddler with their wings.

“Why do you only have these ugly suits? Who made you these? I know this isn’t Yujin’s work, she wouldn’t dare use this ugly yellow,” Seungkwan speaks quickly as he tears through one article of clothing after the other out of Junhui’s closet. “We don’t have time for this, for the love of the fae king, just put this on please, now, quickly.” He throws a button up shirt that’s a blinding teal blue that Junhui honestly has no idea where he got it from. Soon after, Seungkwan throws the matching jacket at him, equally blinding, and a bow tie. While Junhui takes his moment to button up his shirt Seungkwan finds something to his liking, a red chima that makes Junhui’s whole outfit somehow more of an absolute mess.

“Why do you even have a teal top?” Seungkwan questions as he ties the bow tie, “seriously who owns a teal suit in the winter court?” With the tie nice and pressed down Seungkwan presses a hand against Junhui’s chest. Warmth spreads from his palms on Junhui’s sternum across his chest, over his shoulders and down his back, down his arms to his wrist. It’s not a hot, burning feeling, simply a warmth like being wrapped up in a blanket after a day of playing in the snow. When Junhui looks down at his hands the once vivid teal color is now a deep burgundy, the chima a black to match. Seungkwan muses his hair up and off of his face before sticking his crown on top of his head. “We need to get you somewhere new to keep this thing,” Seungkwan says as he places it, “I found it next to a sock that’s seen better days in your bathroom cabinet.”

By the time the two make it out of the cottage, Junhui has managed to get all crusty bits out of his eyes. Beside him, Seungkwan is decked out in his navy blue dress with his chestnut crown perched on his head. His crown is thinner than Junhui’s, the wood that makes up the design twists and twirls around the nuts. Junhui's own crown is a thicker portion of wood with bits of moss growing out of the holes with a walnut sitting in the front. Both, however, are nowhere near as beautiful as their fathers crown. Joshua’s sticks out from the twig base with long, thin, and raideint around his face like a sun beam behind his head with red pomegranate seeds that dot the crown like jewels. Only the best for the winter court king.

The attention starved building comes to life with the warmth of the floating paper lanterns. The day before they spent hours conjuring each and every one of those lanterns and Junhui helped Joshua and Seungkwan light each one before popping it into the air. The guests aren’t supposed to show for another hour or so, when the moon gives the sun her goodnight kiss before taking over the sky for the night. It’ll take a bit longer of popping them into the air to get the lighting right for the ball, thankfully the Parks, the family who are known throughout the kingdom for their cooking, have all the food waiting and ready for the feast before the ball. There is almost tacky decor up all around the ballroom and feast hall; icicles hang from the ceiling, snowflakes that warm to the touch are ready to fall at the start of the ball, big full evergreens trees dot both of the rooms with decorations wrapped around all of them. A joint effort of the winter high court and some of the trooplings fae up the hill who wanted to help out.

“Okay, so,” Chanyeol begins as he bustles out of the kitchen, “the bread loafs are all out and will still be warm by the time the feast starts, our fried honey puffs are ready to go, soups are ready, brisket is ready, the only thing left to be finished is a cake for the king.” Chanyeol looks at Joshua with pride, the same look that he and the other Parks seem to get when they cook for a high court feast. “King Joshua, what kind of cake do you want?” Joshua looks up from his spot on the floor, an odd sight to see the king in a full emerald green suit with his heels kicked aside. Junhui looks down at him and smiles at his dad’s childlike appearance. He's turning 1,226 this season, it’s still so weird to see his dad looking exactly like he did when Junhui was little. When will Joshua start looking like he’s older? With how faes age there usually is no visible difference between a 500 year old and a 1,500 year old. It’s strange to know that at his age Joshua was already a father and freshly crowned the winter king, that while this was going on that Joshua looked exactly the same, maybe a different haircut.

“Can you guys make a cheesecake?”

* * *

It’s pretty standard that the court kings will take each other as a date to the yule ball, which is why it’s not until they get to the winter court that Soonyoung realizes that Jeonghan is up to something. Jeonghan is a little too smug when they get to the door to greet the winter court king and princes for this to be nothing, not with Seokmin on his arm.

“Happy budding day,” Seokmin beams, he’s always beaming at others, “I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you see my gift for you, you’re going to love it.” Soonyoung can’t see that well over Jeonghan in front of him, can’t hear what Jeonghan says to the winter court king over the chatter of his friends behind him. By the time that Soonyoung gets up to the court, king Joshua looks like he ate a lemon but he takes Joshua’s hands anyways and wishes him a happy budding day. He doesn’t drop the lemon look, not really, but Soonyoung watches the king put on a happy face for him and brings his hands up for a kiss. Before the thank you is even fully done Soonyoung is being pushed to Seungkwan, who he gives a quick and light hug to before being in front of Junhui, or where Junhui should be. He pulls a face at the empty space but Mingyu is close on his ass, so he keeps moving into the ballroom.

The warm snow is already usually Soonyoung’s favorite part of the ball. Now that he’s spent so much time in the snow when he tags along with Junhui to help cause it in the human realm, well he can say without a doubt he prefers the warm version so much better. He likes not being wet and frozen to the bone, the warm snow doesn’t even get you wet when it touches skin. Mingyu comes behind him and grabs his shoulders to steer him to a table lined with glass flutes that are full of various alcohols and juices. “This is the only time I get the pomegranate wine, move move,” Mingyu basically barks in his ear.

Soonyoung’s downed two full glasses of the pomegranate wine before the crowd starts to be ushered into the feast hall. It was probably a mistake given that Soonyoung has never been able to hold his alcohol well, but it puts the nerves he feels about whatever it is that his father is doing at ease. Okay, maybe more than just what Jeonghan is doing right now. It’s not his fault that his stupid heart isn’t following the plan. In his defense, it was never even his plan to start with. That is, afterall, what he told Jeonghan when he came back from the lake with Junhui. Soonyoung’s glass refills itself as he makes his way into the feast hall. He downs that one too, quickly, and tries to get the guilt down with it. He doesn’t want to do this anymore, he didn’t want to do it in the first place.

Soonyoung hones in on the blue tuft of hair that is Junhui and comes up behind him. Maybe it's the fact that he’s more tipsy than he is sober, the fact that he has a heavy heart that aches for the touch of the other fae. He wraps his hand around Junhui's arm and hands him the refilling glass. Soonyoung is light and floaty, warm inside as he lets the feeling of being with Junhui fill him instead. He tries, he really tries, to not let Jeonghan's actions affect him but he knows his father, has known him for 600 years and knows when he’s up to something. Jeonghan’s a smart fae and there’s a reason that he became an unseelie, he’s crafty and cunning. There’s nothing that Jeonghan does outside of their court that isn’t planned and calculated. 

* * *

_ When Jeonghan told him the plan for the union, Soonyoung fought it. He was not, under any circumstance, going to be in a union with the weirdo from the winter court. He’s hardly ever even spoken to the other fae, there’s no way in hell that they would have the magical connection that is needed to go through the trials that occur for the union between two courts. There’s no way that they would be able to cause the sapling to grow, no way that they could pull one over on the fae king like that. _

_ But Jeonghan didn’t listen to him. He only smiled wide at Soonyoung with his mirrored shark teeth and wrapped his arms around Soonyoung’s shoulders. “Think about all the good it would bring to the realm though, the combination of our courts powers, my little tiger.” Soonyoung lets himself get rocked a little, side to side like Jeonghan used to do when he was small. “Beside, you know Joshua, he’s the reason Junui is like that. You’re perfectly fine because I let you be a normal child and have friends, he’s the one who made his one weird.” _

_ At the end of the day, Soonyoung had a say in the matter. At the end of the day, Soonyoung agreed to go along with Jeonghan’s plan. At the end of the day, it’s still Soonyoung’s guilt. _

* * *

“I don’t understand why he had to come with Seokmin,” Joshua is probably a little drunker than he needs to be at his own equinox. Junhui watches as his glass refills itself and Joshua starts sipping the new liquid down just as quickly as he has the last four glasses. “He’s always been  _ so  _ close with Junmyeon, I don’t understand why he didn’t just come with him.” Junhui doesn’t get why Joshua even cares who Jeonghan comes with, especially since bringing each other to the yule ball means nothing in the high courts. Soonyoung is his date, which means they’re supposed to sit together and have a dance or two together but nothing more serious than that. It is a little different though, since he is going to be entering a union with Soonyoung come the summer season. It’s not like Joshua is supposed to enter a union with Jeonghan.

“I mean it’s just so unprofessional and disrespectful to our titles as kings, and with someone as fresh to the throne and inexperienced as Seokmin? Anything happening between those two would make those two seasons two powerful since they’re back to back.” Joshua is waving around his glass a little too much, a fae at the next table over is starting to look at the king with cautious eyes. The empty plate of food from the feast sits in front of Joshua and the fresh cheesecake sits at the front of the room waiting for the king to have his budding day treat. He needs to go do it soon, the kingdom is going to think something is amidst. 

“Joshua,” Junhui says as he places his hand on his arm softly, “are you okay? Why are you so upset over this?” he needs to get Joshua up to the cake but maybe not now, maybe not while he’s ranting and raving about who the summer king brings with him to the yule ball. Joshua opens his mouth but Seungkwan grabs the king's arm before he can speak.

“I’ll take care of him, you get everyone dancing and ignoring the fact that we’re not smushing cake in his face right now.”

Seungkwan would make a great king. He’s always in control of what's going on around him, knows when to be calm and when to let loose. Seungkwan has an air to him that he is a fae that is going to be listened to. Junhui just doesn’t know how to get it to skip over him and go to his little brother instead. 

* * *

Faes are easy to distract, Junhui thinks as he gets everyone into the ballroom. Nobody asks about the cake, though the disappearance of the king may help that. A few ask about where he’s at and Junhui lies and says that he’s in the bathroom. The heavy grey cloud in the ballroom starts to squeeze itself and lets the warm snow fall to the ground. The first song of the night is a mid paced song that has faes pairing off and dancing together. Junhui stands to the side and watches as the room moves side to side. He knows what the next song will be, they had sat around and wrote down songs for the band to play a few days before. It’ll be a slow song, something soft and sweet that will make the couples swell like it’s spring time.

“Have you seen Papa Seokkie?” Mingyu screams in his ear, causing him to jump and almost headbutt Mingyu in the chin. It takes a moment for the words he said to actually sink in and once he does Junhui is too busy laughing to answer Mingyu properly, just him wheezing out the phrase ‘Papa Seokkie.’ It seems to materialize the other fae, however, because he winds up right behind Junhui scolding a drunk Mingyu.

“I don’t get why you guys keep calling me that,” Seokmin chides with a smile on his face and a gleam in his eyes. Seokmin, the youngest of the kings, always so bright and shiny it’s no wonder that the rest of the kingdom loves him. So why on earth is Joshua so peeved over Seokmin being what he is, a fun loving fae who’s friends with everyone?

Maybe he has a crush on Seokmin?

Maybe Junhui’s had a little bit too much to drink if that’s what he’s thinking.

“All the other court kings are dads,” Mingyu yells, “we only figured it's fair that we also call you one.”

* * *

Soonyoung wipes his hands on his pants as he leaves the bathroom. He nearly fell over in the bathroom and is on a single minded hunt for a glass of water to try to sober back up. He can’t let his reputation of being one of the best dancers in the kingdom be tarnished because he got drunk before he could even start dancing. He pushes the thick, heavy door open and lets it fall shut behind him, which is shockingly silent even though it’s so heavy. He turns down the hallway on his mission to get back to the ball, almost running back to the room, when he hears hushed voices. 

Maybe he did fall in the bathroom, because he knows this voice. Or, he knows one of those voices, it’s Seungkwan. Soonyoung tiptoes around another corner trying to find his way back to the ballroom. Instead he takes a wrong turn and sees Seungkwan, still talking in a hushed voice, and Joshua, the fae he’s speaking to.

“It’s been 600 years, I get it hurt but you have to move on because you can’t keep causing scenes where something doesn’t go your way. You’re a king. Act like it.”

This isn’t a conversation meant for him. Jeonghan would want him to stay put and listen because clearly the winter king is in distress and Jeonghan always wants to know what is going on with him, but Soonyoung won’t listen any longer. If he doesn’t listen then he can’t tell his father anything. Soonyoung covers his ears with his hands and turns around trying to find his way back to the dining hall. It wasn’t this hard to find the bathroom in the first place, why is it so hard to get back from it now? Is there a spell to make it into a maze for the drunk faes to sober up before they enter the ballroom again? Or is Soonyoung simply so turned around he doesn’t know his up from his down?

A warm hand wraps around his arm. A good, settled, warmth spreads through his body as he looks up to Junhui. He leans in to the touch. He’ll blame it on being drunk. Junhui’s just so warm. Soonyoung feels like an ice cube with a steady finger being held against it, a slow melting of himself. Soonyoung rests his head against Junhui's shoulder and let’s his mouth open without hesitation. “My hero, I thought I was going to die in these twisty turny hallways,” he brings Junhui's hand up to his mouth and plants a firm kiss to the back of his hand.

“Soonyoung there’s only one turn and you went the wrong way out of the bathroom,” Junhui has a smile on his face when he says it though, a smile that reaches his eyes and wraps Soonyoung in a feeling he can’t name, an emotion he can’t place. It’s a good one, one he wants to just absolutely drown in.

Junhui leads him back to the ballroom with a firm hand on his arm and an even firmer one on his waist to help direct him to the refreshment table.

Water. Water is great. Water is so fucking amazing the way it makes you feel like you’re real again with one sip. Soonyoung never realized how much he loves until he’s watching the glass in his hand refill itself just to guzzle it right back down. Each drop brings him back to life, makes him feel like a fae again. By the third time his glass has refilled he’s feeling that gross bloating from drinking too much water, has a sloshing in his gut from the sheer amount of liquid in him, but he feels more alive than he has in hours.

The music changes to some song from the human realm, a signifier that they’re changing to more fast pace songs soon. Soonyoung let’s Junhui steer him to a table and falls into a chair. Soon, as if Soonyoung's ass hitting the chair let out a signal for all of them to know where he’s at, all of the spring court princes show up at the table with a wonky and weaving Wonwoo in tow. At least Soonyoung wasn’t the only one who drank a little too much.

“I requested a song,” Vernon says, a little more than tipsy but still holding his bearings, “I heard it when we were in the human realm for samhain.”

Oh, Samhain.

Samhain was simpler.

Nobody would have gotten hurt if Soonyoung hadn’t gotten decked on Samhain.

If that little girl hadn’t punched him then Junhui wouldn’t have had to fix his nose and Soonyoung wouldn’t be stuck with this itch under his skin to touch and be around Junhui as often as he can. He wouldn’t have had to agree to go help Junhui with making winter take. He wouldn’t be sitting here, drunk and bloated, feeling like his bleeding heart is on display for all to poke and prod at. Soonyoung wouldn’t be choking back guilt that he has been trying to drown with the alcohol all night. Clearly, his plan hasn’t been working. He still feels a bile rise in his throat when Junhui looks at him like  _ that  _ again.

But Soonyoung doesn’t get time to lament about it right now. It’s happened and as much as he wishes he could, there’s no way to go back and fix what happened.

Right now the song changes to something soft and slow, something that swells with emotion. If he wasn't supposed to be entering a union soon, Soonyoung wouldn’t have moved, he could have stayed planted in his seat and watched the happy couples sway and dance together. His favorite is watching the truples dance in a small circle among themselves in a way that should be awkward but the amount of love radiating off of them, the kind of love that has others choking on it, more than makes up for the fact.

But he’s supposed to be entering a loving union, a union that is so full of love that it requires the fae king to come to their kingdom. So he smiles at Junhui and reaches his hand out to him for them to take the floor as the happy court couple. Junhui smiles back at him and takes his outstretched hand. He knows the same as Soonyoung that they have to play this game.

Soonyoung isn’t sure he wants it to be a game anymore.

Okay, he’s still drunk.

Junhui is warm where he touches. He's always warm, despite the fact that he comes from the winter court. Soonyoung’s touched Seungkwan before, his skin is always on the cooler side like he just walked out of a snow storm. He always finds it refreshing to grab Seungkwan's arm. 

Junhui wrapping his arm around his waist, however, feels like a fire bubbling in his chest. It’s like when you walk outside and the summer sun blooms across your face and blinds you for a moment. It’s an all consuming warmth that never crosses into too hot. Just warm. Always warm. No matter how hot he feels under the touch it’s never too much to handle. It’s never an uncomfortable heat he wants to escape from, always a warmth he wants to get further into.

Soonyoung let’s himself rest his head on Junhui's shoulder. They’re not even dancing, which is a shame to Soonyoung because if he’s one of the best dancers in the kingdom then Junhui, in his opinion, might be the best. Junhui holds his waist with one arm and the other holds Soonyoung’s hand down by their side as they more or less sway. They should be dancing, the two best dancers in the kingdom should tear up a dance floor when put to dance together, but Soonyoung doesn’t want this to stop, maybe it is because he’s still drunk or maybe it’s because he doesn’t want Junhui to stop holding him so close.

Soonyoung opens his eyes that fluttered close when he rested his head against Junhui. His sight falls to Jeonghan at a table not too far away. He has a look in his eyes that causes a stone to settle in Soonyoung’s stomach at the near fear in them. Junmyeon, the summer king before Jeonghan, sits on a chair beside him, the two crowded together and whispering. If Jeonghan has a fear, Junmyeon doesn’t seem to realize it with his face wide open for all to see.

“I saw Joshua and Seungkwan talking in the hall,” Soonyoung whispers, or at least he hopes it’s a whisper. The last thing he wants is for Jeonghan to find out about something like this. “He seemed pretty upset, is everything okay?” Junhui keeps swaying the two of them, has them turn slowly in a circle, but doesn’t answer. If Soonyoung really cared he’d lift his and look at Junhui, apply some pressure if he was really digging for answers. He's an unseelie after all, by nature he’s persuasive in getting what he wants. He won’t though, he doesn’t care that much. Besides, if Junhui wants to tell him he will.

And he does.

“My dad is — ah, a bit pissed that Jeonghan brought Seokmin as his date,” Junhui finally answers. They dance around in their stupid little circle for a little while longer before Junhui starts talking again, “Seungkwan was basically calming him down.”

Soonyoung can’t help the small smile that leaks across his lips. “Yeah,” he mumbles as he wiggles closer into Junhui. He's pretty drunk, you know. “I’m pretty sure that’s why he did it. Jeonghan likes getting under Joshua's skin.”

The song comes to an end as Joshua comes to stand on the stage.

“I hope you all have been enjoying the ball,” Joshua announces, “we’re going to do the cake now!” There’s a big smile on Joshua's face. Soonyoung wants to hold on to Junhui a while longer, but with Joshua on stage and Seungkwan close to joining, Junhui has to join as well. The two princes have to stand alongside them and do their tradition of shoving the cake into Joshua's face.

He’s sure he’ll have more chances to hold on to Junhui, he’ll probably have even chances later tonight, but right now he’s scared. He's stupidly scared that if he lets Junhui go that he won’t come back. 

Soonyoung leaves a kiss on Junhui's cheek before he lets him go. It’s easy, simple, a gesture that feels so good and right that Soonyoung wonders why he hasn’t done it before. Maybe he should kiss Junhui at every given chance because the anxiety in him settles with his lip to Junhui’s skin. The feeling of Junhui against him, however quick and passing the moment is, makes him feel right.

Junhui smiles at Soonyoung when he pulls back from his cheek. Junhui’s cheeks light up with a dust of red, his mouth ajar with words to say that have to die there because he’s needed on stage. Soonyoung smiles back with a chest heavy with something he can’t place. The kingdom is watching them and there’s nothing else Soonyoung wants more than to actually kiss Junhui. He can’t though, because Junhui gives him a little nod and heads up towards the stage to be with his family.

  
  


* * *

  
  


The winter kingdom is fucking cold.

Soonyoung knows it’s because he’s from the summer court so the moment anything drops under 20 degrees means his teeth are chattering and he’s reaching for a jacket. It doesn’t change the fact that he’s fucking cold as he trots through the snow. The jacket Junhui gave Soonyoung no longer helps now that there’s snow falling.

It’s been a few weeks since the yule ball. They haven’t talked about the kiss and Soonyoung’s not sure if they should. It was so small, so tiny, and it was just a kiss to the cheek. It’s not like Soonyoung shoved his tongue down Junhui’s throat. He gets touchy and smoochy when he’s drunk anyways, anyone from the spring high court can attest to that. Him giving Junhui a kiss on the cheek completely tracks with his drunk past. 

What doesn’t track with his drunk past? The gnawing feeling of guilt of knowing that Jeonghan has some sort of plan going on behind the curtain but not being sure what exactly it is. Jeonghan is an unseelie and a libra, he’s one of the most petty faes in the kingdom with a knack for holding grudges long past their expiration dates. He’s got a plan, Soonyoung knows it, even if it’s just something to get under Joshua's skin, which is probably Jeonghan's favorite activity.

But that’s not for him to deal with right now. Right now, Soonyoung has been sent on the mission by everyone else to go get Junhui from his cottage as the thick snow falls around him. They said it’s because they know that the two faes need to get their magic to work together, so why not give the two as much quality alone time as possible. Soonyoung knows it’s because he’s shaking like a leaf in the wind and everyone finds it funny. Even Wonwoo is handling the cold better than he is, though Soonyoung has a sneaking suspicion that he’s using some sort of spell to keep warm and just won’t tell him what it is, the bastard.

Junhui’s little brick cottage looks right in the snow. The winter courts trees stay bright and full during the snow fall, the little porch area still is decorated with floating lights from the winter equinox that Soonyoung’s not sure Junhui will ever take down. He hurries to get under the overhang and out of the snow.

“Junhui, get up,'' Soonyoung announces as he opens the door, not even bothering to knock. He's been over enough, he can do it. He kicks off his boots before running into Junhui's bedroom, where the other fae is fast asleep under a warm collection of blankets. It should be cute and it kinda is as long as Soonyoung doesn’t look at Junhui’s face from the nose up because the weirdo has his eyes half open but is still clearly asleep.

Great, Soonyoung’s entering a union with a fae who sleeps with their eyes open.

“Junhui,” Soonyoung whines out his name and drags it out like that alone is going to wake this monster. He just doesn’t want to touch him, what if Junhui’s messing with him and when soonyoung goes to wake him up he scares the shit out of him? No thank you, Seungkwan's already scared him today and he will not be taken out twice by both of the winter court princes, thank you very much.

Finally even Soonyoung has enough of his own whining and decides there's one of two options here. 

Option 1: Junhui really is asleep and he needs to shake him awake so that he can join them all in the last snow of the winter season.

Option 2: Junhui is still, in fact, just pretending to be asleep and has incredible patience when it comes to pranks.

Knowing what Soonyoung knows about the winter king and Seungkwan, his son, he’s going to go with option 2.

He doesn’t think about it, does he ever really, before he just jumps in the air and let’s himself come down on Junhui’s bed. He's half on Junhui, half on the bed, feet dangling off the side. It works, it wakes Junhui up in an instant with a gasp. 

Unfortunately for Soonyoung, Junhui’s hands fly up and Soonyoung gets so, so cold.

“Fuck!” Junhui yells but to Soonyoung it sounds muffled and far away. He's really cold, this jacket really isn’t enough for him. Soonyoung goes to try to move off of him but can’t get himself to. He tries to open his mouth but that’s not working either. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Junhui move and push something. Suddenly he’s upside down, still unable to move, with anxiety rising in his chest at not being able to actually move.

“Don’t panic,” Junhui says, though it looks like he’s screaming it if his face is anything to go off of, “I fucking froze you. That’s what you get, asshole, scaring the fuck out of me.” 

Soonyoung blinks, not wholly sure it’ll work but is pleasantly surprised when it does. Okay, he can blink. He's got that going for him. He watches, upside down still, as Junhui hurries around the room gathering things left and right. He carries an arm full of various things through the door and leaves Soonyoung like this in his bed by himself. Damn it. Soonyoung’s so cold that it’s mind numbing and he longs for the feeling of being able to move his fingers. He never thought it would be something he’d miss.

He must have closed his eyes because suddenly he’s being moved, or more precisely he’s hurling towards the ground constantly as he’s frozen in a giant ice cube apparently. He watches the ground under him move like he’s behind glass. If Soonyoung could move his hand to reach out and touch it he would, just to see if it moves with the bumps too. He can’t though, not with his hands still suspended mid air.

Junhui directs the ice cube that holds Soonyoung into the kitchen. Soonyoung’s just happy he’s not upside down any more, it was making him a little nauseous. He goes over a small bump into the kitchen, something so tiny he’s never actually noticed it before, and wishes he could scream. Instead Soonyoung’s eyes just get comically wide at the sight of the open oven and he can hear the faint sound of Junhui laughing at him.

“Don’t worry,” Junhui really does have to be yelling so Soonyoung to be able to hear him so well, “it’s just so the heat can help you melt.”

Junhui leaves him right next to the oven and Soonyoung just has to take his word that it’s on because he’s not feeling any sort of heat from it deep inside his ice cube. Out of the corner of his eye, Soonyoung can see Junhui moving around the kitchen and mixing stuff together. At one point Junhui comes over to the oven to put a kettle on, which just feels rude considering Soonyoung would kill for that hot water right now. He can’t feel much of his body, none of it, in fact.

Soonyoung’s eyes get tired, his lids blinking heavily until finally they close. It’s nice, to sleep, he wishes he had a blanket right now but since he’s is currently in a fucking ice cube he can’t really be making demands right now can he?

There’s no way for Soonyoung to know how long he was out for when Junhui starts shaking his cube back and forth violently.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, Soonyoung, I can't have Jeonghan yelling at me that I killed his only son.”

Oh, for the love of the fae king, what does that mean? If Soonyoung goes to sleep will he die? That’s definitely what Junhui just implied. But the ice is so comforting now, lulling his body and mind to sleep like a child in their parents arms. Granted, it’s a cold pair of arms, it’s a rigid and unwavering pair of arms but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s oddly comforting now around him.

Junhui slaps the ice cube again hard, shaking Soonyoung inside a little, “do not fall asleep okay? Here let me.” Junhui goes and turns the ice cube so that Soonyoung’s ass is to the oven and not his side anymore. The slide of the ice is smoother than it was earlier, slicker. The ice is melting, thankfully. Now Soonyoung can see the entirety of the kitchen, the pots that hang on the wall and the herbs that dangle from the ceiling. He watches Junhui mix some herbs in a big bowl on his table before hustling behind him and returning with the kettle, pouring the steaming water into the mixture. Salt gets added to the bowl before he settles a spoon that stirs itself as Junhui leaves the room.

“Soonyoung,” Junhui’s yell is louder now, though not by much. The ice really is melting, the feeling in Soonyoung’s chest can’t decide it’s that’s a good thing or not. “Everyone’s here to see what I’ve done to you.” Junhui leads a procession of faes into the small kitchen, Mingyu drops like a sack of potatoes the moment he walks into the room. Soonyoung still can’t quite hear what they’re saying, there’s an overlapping of muffled and distant voices but Soonyoung can’t distinguish any one voice from another or the words they’re saying. Mingyu is still on the floor, Minghao looks like he’s laughing.

Junhui starts talking, not loud enough for Soonyoung to really hear, to Seungkwan, who looks equal parts confused and pissed off. The spoon stops stirring and makes a noise that even Soonyoung can hear through the ice. It shakes the ice around him a little, if he was outside he’d probably feel it in his teeth, the rest of them look like they can.

Chan comes up to the ice and looks at Soonyoung the way a baby does a fish in a bowl. Before Chan even lifts his hand Soonyoung knows his plan. Chan starts knocking on the ice like Soonyoung really is a fish in a glass. There’s no real sound inside the ice, no real feeling other than a light rumble of the ice. Vernon comes up behind him and grabs his arm, Soonyoung thinks to maybe stop him from continuously knocking on the ice. No, he just moves Chan to the edge of the ice cube and both of them start hitting the ice. Whether or not it was Vernon's’ plan, the ice starts to clip under their hands. Behind them Soonyoung can see Mingyu make a face of pure glee.

“Soonyoung,” Junhui screams and causes everyone around him, including Seungkwan, to jump, “when you start being able to move, blink twice to let us know, okay?”

Soonyoung blinks twice. Every blink causes his eye to feel like they’re going to fall out and leave his skull hollow. Maybe this isn’t the best way to communicate but what other choice does Soonyoung have?

He watches as Junhui leans over the side of the ice cube and pours that pipping hot mixture on the top. If Soonyoung looks up and squints, he can see the thin layer of liquid that settles on the top of him.

Wonwoo sits at the table with the kettle in his hands, clutching it like it’ll hold all the answers in the world. Soonyoung watches as he and Junhui fall into a steady rhythm of Junhui filling the kettle, Wonwoo holds it in his hands for a few moments until steam starts puffing out of the top, and then Junhui pours the hot water on top of the ice cube. Between that, the gentle rumble of the tapping, and the overall calm of the ice, Soonyoung is ends up letting his eye close. Sleep feels just on the cusp of his fingers, so close and inviting that it’s all Soonyoung wants.

“Soonyoung!” Seungkwan yells this time, “what part of do not go to sleep are you not getting!” 

They've been going at it for a while now, Junhui and Wonwoo working together to get the water hot while Chan and Vernon chip away the sides of the ice cube. Seungkwan and Minghao get involved too, though there’s never been a moment more terrifying in Soonyoung’s life as the sight of Minghao walking towards him with a knife. It was with the intention of chipping away ice but it doesn’t change the fact. Mingyu sits with a mop just trying to push as much water as he can out of the kitchen and into the snow covered yard, making a slushie out there no doubt.

Soonyoung feels it before anyone notices it. The ice towards the oven has completely melted and is causing his ass to heat up. It gets too much too fast and almost as soon as Soonyoung notices that there’s heat on his ass it becomes too much. He’s half convinced that his ass is literally on fire. There’s not much he can do though, his ass might be free but that’s about it. Soonyoung sticks to wiggling as best as he can. Really it’s just him trying to get his legs free before his ass does catch fire.

There’s a crack in the ice. It’s so loud inside the cube that it deafens Soonyoung for a moment, head spinning from the earth shattering noise. Through the ringing in his ear he can hear Junhui yell in excitement at the cracking on top of the cube. Seungkwan hits the crack with his spatula and Soonyoung watches as a mass leaves the cube, just barely keeping his head in the ice. There’s another whack, this time from Minghao and his big knife, and frees the top half of Soonyoung’s head, most of his forehead and an eyeball.

With slightly more freedom, namely his ass and his forehead, Soonyoung tries his best to rock back and forth. The ice doesn’t give much with the motion and, aside from the few chips of thin ice around his head that fall to the ground crumbling, there’s not much change. Thankfully his wiggling brings attention to the fact that his ass is out and almost on fire, which if it actually caught fire would have just been adding insult to injury to injury here, and Mingyu turns him.

“Hey Soonyoung,” Vernon screams even though he doesn’t really need anymore from where he stands behind him and makes Soonyoung a little anxious because he can’t see what the weirdo is doing, “can I slap your ass?”

“Blink once for yes, blink twice for no,” Junhui yells at him too, only this asshole is in his line of sight grinning ear to ear as he looks over Soonyoung in his ice cube all together to stare, presumably, at Vernon.

Well, at least they’re bonding.

Soonyoung blinks once. His eyes don’t burn with exhaustion like they did before when he would blink, it’s more like a midday nap scratching at his heels for attention. Maybe he could just have a little nap. That sounds nice.

There’s no warning before Vernon's hand collides with Soonyoung’s ass cheek. Any ounce of sleep that Soonyoung even thought of entertaining disappears at the collision of Vernon’s hand and Soonyoung’s ass. He’s honest to god shocked, Vernon’s never been good at smacking ass before. He's always weak when he hits it like he’s terrified of hurting the other. Apparently being frozen in ice changes how Vernon feels about ass smacking though given that he just hit Soonyoung like that.

Vernon, evidently bored with busting Soonyoung out of his icy prison, takes to playing Soonyoung’s ass like a set of drums. Seungkwan and Minghao are hammering away at the ice with Chan and Vernon is slapping his ass to the beat of that human realm song he had them play at the yule ball while hums along. Which reminds him, Soonyoung forgot to ask Jeonghan about what happened with Junmyeon after the ball. Unfortunately, he was still a little too fuzzy around the edges and heavy limbed by the time they headed home to ask him anything that wasn’t a cup of water. Hopefully he’ll remember to ask him about it when he gets home, though he’ll be weeks late to ask.

Seungkwan hits just right with the spatula and there’s a crunch, sending part of the ice sliding down onto the ground for Mingyu to mop away to join the slush outside. Wonwoo keeps his hand on the bowl of water to keep the steam rolling off of it while Chan gets put in charge of putting the kettle on the stove. The kettle water gets poured into a separate bowl that Junhui takes.

Junhui sits criss cross in front of Soonyoung with a washcloth in hand. He watches Junhui dip the washcloth into the water and bring it up to Soonyoung’s face to melt away the ice. He starts at the part of Soonyoung’s face that is exposed and the mere touch of the washcloth makes Soonyoung want to cry. He's been in this ice cube for so long and has been so cold the whole time that he can’t help it.

“Soonyoung,” Junhui whispers just loud enough for Soonyoung to hear him, “don’t cry, it’s okay.” He didn’t even realize that he actually started crying until Junhui started wiping away his tears. His heart swells as it bangs in his chest. He can’t help that the feeling of a washcloth makes him feel like this. Soonyoung keeps telling himself it’s the warmth from the washcloth that’s making him feel like this and not the fact that Junhui is sitting in front of him looking at him so softly. Junhui’s so close to him that he can see the light freckles on his face alongside the heavy ones that dot him. He has a look on his face that Soonyoung only knows to compare to a happy cat with the soft curve of his mouth and something in his eyes so overwhelming Soonyoung shuts his eyes.

The stupid idiot loves him. He really loves Soonyoung and Soonyoung can’t believe it. When it comes to their sapling they’ll be fine from Junhui but what about from Soonyoung?

Something ugly sits in his chest and he lets the tears roll down his face with more vigor now. How is Soonyoung supposed to live with himself knowing that Junhui is so wholeheartedly like this with him and Soonyoung’s what? He can’t lie and pretend that they’re both head over heels in love with each other. They both knew that there was nothing there when this started, so why does he feel like everytime his heart sings is a crime he commits against Junhui?

They break him out, finally. Mingyu pulls Soonyoung out of the cube by his armpits as the last bit is tugged away from his middle. Soonyoung can’t do much of anything but sit in the kitchen and shiver as the other stack layer upon layer on him. 

They move him to the sitting room after the shaking settles down to simple tremors. Soonyoung sits on the cushioning on Junhui’s floor and between the blanket wrapped around him and the warmth from the gudeul coming up from the floor he gets nice and toasty quickly.

“Hey, Junhui,” Soonyoung mumbles as he tilts his head back against the wall, “can I sleep now or will I still die?”

“Die!” Mingyu squeaks, “who’s dying!”

Junhui laughs at him before he lets his hand land into Soonyoungs hair. All he can hear is static as Junhui strokes his fingers through Soonyoungs hair with his fingers moving like he’s searching for the right channel. Soonyoung sits there looking up at him and watches his mouth move but absolutely nothing Junhui says is sinking in. He can hear Junhui speak, really he can, but it sounds like he's underwater. 

“We have to deal with wolves and boars okay, we need some sort of protection,” Seungkwan's voice cuts through the loud noise in Soonyoung’s head, Junhui moving his hand away helps too but he misses him the moment it happens. He follows after Junhui’s hand and Soonyoung kicks himself for doing it.

“Soonyoung,” Junhui says as he sits down next to him, “you can sleep if you want, it’s okay now.”

Soonyoung doesn’t think. He just closes his eyes and tips to the side so he’s snug in the crook of Junhui’s neck. He's so warm and all consuming. This close, this sober, the smell of Junhui is overwhelming. The scent of pumpkins and cinnamon comforts him into maybe snuggling in a little closer, he won’t admit to it though. Exhausted, Soonyoung manages to clock out with the sounds of his friends running a muck around him.

When Soonyoung knocks out, he apparently really is down for the count. Really Junhui doesn’t know how he managed to fall asleep and stay asleep with all the chaos going on around them as everyone bickered and teased Mingyu until his ears were red, which Junhui learns isn’t actually very hard to do.

At some point he moves Soonyoung off of his shoulder so that he can go to the bathroom. When Junhui came back, there was heated debate going on about a human show and Soonyoung was sitting straight up, though that might be too generous seeing as he was mostly leaning back against the wall. Junhui can’t help the giggle that leaves his body when he sees Soonyoung. His hair is in every direction, eyes hardly even open, and his mouth is turned down into the grumpiest looking frown Junhui has ever seen on a grown fae.

“I’m just sayin that them putting Vanya with a man in the first season was the ugliest thing I have ever seen,” Mingyu says as he points to the screen in front of the gaggle in the sitting room, “it was like watching Minghao and Seokmin make eyes at each other, gross and painful.” The room breaks into laughter, even Minghao laughs about it. 

Junhui sits down next to Soonyoung, who promptly falls into Junhui’s lap.

“You seem grump,” Junhui says, resting his hand on Soonyoung’s head. From his lap there’s a noise of disapproval.

“You left. Play with my hair.”

So Junhui does. He plays with Soonyoung’s hair until he can feel a small wet spot on his thigh from where Soonyoung is drooling against him. He doesn’t move him though despite the fact that these are his favorite pajama pants. He just lets Soonyoung sit there against his leg, drooling in his sleep as he joins the others in whatever show it is they’re watching.

By the time that everyone but Seungkwan and Soonyoung leaves, the sun is well below the horizon. Seungkwan brought him a cup of tea about an hour ago but it sits beside Junhui’s leg cold and ignored while the two got so wrapped up in a different show. Once Seungkwan realizes the time though he declares that he’s going to head over to his cottage.

“Do you want to wake him up?” Seungkwan asks. Junhui knows he should say yes, that he needs to wake Soonyoung and send him out on his merry way to his own realm to sleep for the night. When he looks down at Soonyoung to do it though he can’t. Maybe if Junhui told Seungkwan that it’s just because he knows that Soonyoung is exhausted from the ice accident then his brother will let it pass without question. But he knows Seungkwan too well to think that there is any way out of this that doesn’t end with him being made fun of in his own cottage.

“Nah,” Junhui settles on, “I’ll leave him, he got frozen. You know how much that takes out of a body.” He looks up to Seungkwan expecting the mockery to start. Instead he is met with a face that Junhui honestly doesn’t see often from Seungkwan, one of actual concern and not an over dramatic concern that he puts on for effect.

“Can we talk? Outside maybe?” Seungkwan asks, motioning to the little front porch and the back of the bench that can be seen through the window. Junhui can’t do anything but nod. He rolls Soonyoung off of him as carefully as possible and replaces his own leg under his head with a nearby cushion instead. The two sneak out of the front door, careful not to make any noise to possibly wake Soonyoung up.

“What are you doing Junhui?” Seungkwan has never been known for beating around the bush. He goes into problems head first in an attempt to get everything in the open as quickly and easily as possible. “I don’t want you to get yourself hurt.”

Junhui laughs, something gross and loud that sticks in his chest. It’s bitter on his tongue and feels like bile in throat. “Kwannie, I don’t think that’s really a choice at this point. I have to enter a union with the fae in there or else our kingdom is going to become the next Atlantis.” Junhui lets himself fall into the bench and lets his head fall back. “There’s no way out of this that I don’t get hurt. There’s like 6 different ways that this can go and only 1 of them has Soonyoung falling in love with me, and that’s fine, I’m okay with that.”

Seungkwan sits down next to Junhui on the bench and starts rubbing Junhui’s back in small circles. It’s calming, it gives Junhui something to focus on other than the thought of the union looming over his head and how the fate of their realm rests in the hands of the two of them. Hands that are going to have to pull together enough magic to get through their tasks for their union. That is, of course, if they can trick the fae king. The fucking fae king is going to come and test their love and while Junhui knows he can past he doesn’t know if Soonyoung can. If the fae king gets even an inkling that they’re not two faes head over ass in love with each other, well Junhui doesn’t know what happens then because that has never happened before. Every high court fae that has entered a union while ruling has managed to grow teh sapling, to get a name, and finish the other task that Soonyoung and Junhui are going to have to do.

“I’m okay with putting myself through that if it means that our realm will be safe.”

* * *

Yujin taps his arm a little further up before she takes a measuring tape to Junhui's arm and mumbles to her notebook floating behind her. The joy is just absolutely flooding off of her as she tuts around Junhui repeating the process of measuring and mumbling. They’ve started the slip into spring, meaning that Junhui and Soonyoung’s union date is right around the corner.

“Are you guys sure that you don’t want to move it up to the spring? So many unions happen in the spring, the fall king is entering his union during the blossom bloom I heard,” Yujin says casually like she didn’t just drop that nugget of information on Junhui. 

“Wait,” Junhui almost squawks at the news. Was anyone going to tell him this or was he just going to show up to the union ceremony without knowing like some sort of fool? “When, since when?”

Yujin laughs at him, like a fully open mouth laughs at Junhui as he struggles to put it together. “King Seungcheol announced it at the autumn equinox right after the kings announced your union.”

Oh, well that might be why he didn’t know. He did tear out of the feasting hall the moment that he had an opening. He’s just kind of mad that nobody, namely Minghao, has told him since then. He didn’t even know that Seungcheol and Jihoon were a thing, let alone entering a union together. 

“I remember when I entered my union with my wife, that was ages ago now.” With a grin on her face and love in her eyes as she retells the chaos of her own union, the way her wife’s dress tore as they walked together to the altar. 

“Whole behind almost hanging out!” She bellows, “her father, bless him, gave her something to cover it up with while we tried to work quick to hem it while we were still walking but magic like that under pressure is hard you know!”

She continues to measure him and tell him about her family. Junhui doesn’t mind hearing the story about their first trip to the baby bloom where they picked their son out of his bud. 

He lets himself pretend for a moment what it would be like for him and Soonyoung to be picking a baby from the bloom. He hasn’t been to a baby bloom before but he’s seen them, little buds on tall stalks that inside will have a baby. It takes weeks, months, to coax the baby out of their bud. As Yujin tells him how her wife finally managed to get him out with the smell of an apple cider he wonders what they would use. Would Junhui make hot chocolate so sickeningly sweet their baby would come out just to taste it? Would Soonyoung rock the green bud until the leaves pulled back and revealed their baby?

“And the fae king! It’s not often he comes to these parts!” Yujin's measuring Junhui’s leg now, hip to ankle, as she talks. “Not often there’s a union between two high courts, I guess. My union was overseen by king Kyungsoo before he appointed king Joshua.”

Someone else who works in the shop pokes their head through the curtain. It’s Eunwoo, they look at Junhui in the mirror for a moment before he gives them a nod. They sit on the little chair, card a hand through their short green hair, and the two start talking around Junhui.

“We haven’t seen the fae king in these parts since prince Soonyoung’s unseelie ceremony, right?” Eunwoo asks the room at large. It’s true, the king usually keeps to himself far in the east and only really leaves if there’s a ceremony or event that needs him. An unseelie himself, he oversees any unseelie ceremony and as the fae king he also looks over any unions overlapping season courts. He doesn’t come out for any old reason, which is why Junhui’s and Soonyoung’s union ceremony has to go off without a hitch.

Maybe Junhui should ask Mingyu for a love potion, just to make sure their sapling grows. Their friends — Soonyoung’s friends, know this is a political marriage and have done everything they can to try to help the two build their magic. It’s sweet of them.

“He started using music to lure in humans like he’s a siren, which I think is funny,” Yujin says.

Eunwoo laughs and slaps their thigh lightly. It’s always a good feeling being able to just be around these two. Yujin always puts his nerves at ease, so does Eunwoo. He thinks about what he’ll do when he’s done being king, something that has yet to happen and yet for Junhui it can’t come soon enough. Part of him wants to work with the Parks, maybe make breads and pastries, roll out noodles of all kinds for them to serve. Another part wants to do this, maybe, make clothes. Yujin would teach him, hell she’d start now if he asked her.

“He chose an odd form to present to the humans too,” Eunwoo replies from their spot in their chair all pulled up with their legs daring to go over the arm of the chair at any moment. “He's really tall and lays the alluring magic on a little too heavy on his music.”

Eunwoo entered a union with their partners not that long ago. It was overseen by Seungcheol, who stood tall and joyful next to the thruple’s children as he directed the three on their movements for the ceremony. Their fourth partner sat next to Junhui in the crowd, not quite ready for the commitment of a union. Junhui doesn’t blame him, it’s a lot to take on.

The two continue to speak but Junhui zones out into his thoughts. He's thinking about his future with Soonyoung, again. It feels like that’s all he thinks about recently. Soonyoung, himself, and a future that they could have if this was a real union. Junhui has to keep pinching himself though, reminding himself that it’s not a real union. It’s not, he and Soonyoung are simply playing their parts in order to make sure that their kingdom doesn’t end up like Atlantis. 

Will they have to live together to keep up appearances for the kingdom, at least at first? Will they make a new home on the borderline between the two kingdoms, half of the home in the winter court and the other in the summer? Or will Junhui get to keep his cottage? He's worked so hard to make his own, will he have to share his home? Will they share a bed or will a second one have to be gotten?

What happens if they have to pull a child into this? What court would it be raised it? What damage would two parents who don’t actually love each other do to a child?

Junhui doesn’t want to think about it. 

“Hey, Junhui,” Eunwoo asks, knocking Junhui out of the tailspin of his thoughts, “did you guys happen to ever find out what happened to Baekhyun?”

Junhui shakes his head no. He has no clue, actually, who the hell Baekhyun is. He faintly remembers his name but nothing else really about him. All he knows is that the seasons got messed up when the changing of power happened. Summer stepped down too soon after winter, skipping over spring all together. The spring king, king Sehun, had to wait much longer to step down in order to help fix the balance to the seasons. The only good part about it is that it gave king Seokmin plenty of time to learn his kingdom. 

“I’m telling you,” Yujin says as she wraps the measuring tape around itself, finally finished with Junhui's measurements, “Baekhyun was killed and they threatened Junmyeon and  _ that’s  _ why he stepped down when he did. It makes perfect sense, that’s why none of us have seen Baekhyun since.”

“Yah, you’re full of it!” Eunwoo has a smile on their face as they speak, “Baekhyun didn't die, he went to the human realm like Jongin did! Bet you he's still alive now!”

Junhui makes a face that must be funny because both laugh at him.

“You knew that’s why king Jeonghan has the summer court, right?” Eunwoo asks before getting lightly hit by Yujin.

“Clearly he didn’t or else he wouldn’t be looking at us like that. you knew that Jeonghan was originally in the fall court?”

Junhui nods. Jeonghan is a libra and unless he was also a changling, which Junhui knows isn’t true, then he has to be from the fall court.

“Okay, well, like your father, king Jeonghan was also originally a troopling.”

Wait, what?

“But he’s so powerful that he was always a sort of backup for the fall court in case anything happened to king Seungcheol before he could take over for king Jongdae,” Yujin continues speaking like she didn’t just drop that information on Junhui. He’d known that Joshua wasn’t king Kyungsoo’s first choice to take the throne after him but he hadn’t known that he was a troopling.

“Prince Baekhyun was going to be next but he just disappeared one day and then Junmyeon stepped down before even a full cycle was finished for Joshua and he appointed Jeonghan.”

“I think he just fucked off like Jongin did,” Eunwoo says as soon as Yujin is done directly at Junhui, like they were waiting for Yujin to shut up. “Beside, if you really care that much we can go ask king Junmyeon what happened, he’s right on the border of the winter and summer courts anyways, next to the summer courts ring. I say,” they try to look at Junhui like it’s big news what they’re saying, ground breaking, earth shattering, “Let the courts keep their drama. I have enough issues with my sister trying to seduce the baker.”

“Oh is Hyorin going for Yoonra or Chanyeol?” Yujin asks.

“Neither,” Eunwoo responds, “she’s trying to fuck their intern, Yugyeom. Can’t blame her though.”

The two spill gossip in front of Junhui without any hesitation. For a moment he can’t help but wonder why they would tell these secrets in front of him. Sure, he's a winter court prince but that doesn’t give him any sort of privilege above them. The only difference between him and them is the fact that he was picked by Joshua, same as a baby from the baby bloom would be picked. He has magic powers same as them and only has the name of the court to him because they let him. Maybe it’s because they think he couldn’t possibly know who they’re talking about, that he doesn’t get out nearly enough. They’d be wrong, he does. 

They trust him, he realizes, not to tell others as soon as he leaves. It feels nice to be trusted with something like this, to know what’s going on. Joshua hasn’t done that in years.

* * *

The ground by the little house is soft, the grass a luscious green that looks almost too picturequest to be real. The crunch of the snow under Junhui’s shoes gives way as he enters the bubble of eternal summer around the house. There's a little garden, fruits and vegetables curling around sticks or spalling across the dirt. It’s quaint, peaceful even. Junhui swallows the lump in his throat as he moves towards the front door. Time to ruin the peace.

King Junmyeon is nearly 2,500 years old but doesn’t look a day older than 1,000. A few fine creases are imprinted on his face, the most prominent being the laugh lines around his mouth, but that’s all that gives away any sort of age to him. He greets Junhui with a polite smile that doesn’t go to his wide eyes. “Prince Junhui, what a surprise! What can I do for you?” Junmyeon keeps a cheery tone but Junhui can’t help but notice that he keeps blocking any real view into his house.

“King Junmyeon,” junhui breaths out, “can I ask you a few questions about things that happened during your reign?” 

Junmyeon closes his eyes like he knew this would happen, like this is just a reality he’s been running away from for the last 600 odd some years. Finally, he nods and moves to the side to let Junhui into his home.

Junmyeon’s home is a replica of every other summer court house Junhui has ever been in. The window is open with a seemingly endless breeze pushing past the curtains, the air light and warm around him. Junhui's boots sit by the front door with his jacket as he follows Junmyeon to a table with socked feet. The scent of vanilla hangs in the air and Junmyeon brings a teapot close to him. In the blink of an eye there's steam billowing from the pot as Junmyeon pours himself and Junhui cups of the tea.

“What do you want to know?” Junmyeon asks, his age leaking through to his voices as exhaustion.

‘Everything,’ Junhui wants to say. Everything Junmyeon can tell him. All the secrets Joshua has been keeping from him his whole life. What he had done when he took Junhui from the human realm that caused the practice of changlings to be outlawed so universally. Why was Jeonghan the summer court king? Why would a court consol demand a marriage between court princes? What would happen to Junhui and Soonyoung, what court would their children belong to?

“Did you know I’m a changling?”

Junmyeon makes a face, clearly that’s not what he was expecting to be asked today. 

“Yeah, yeah I know. Almost everyone knew that you’re a changling, Joshua was so excited when he brought you home. Such a noisey home that became. I was shocked he took in Seungkwan when he came, given how everything went when you were small.” 

Junmyeon sips his tea before opening a small jar to add some sugar to the cup. Junhui drinks his own and wishes it was a mint tea, something to sooth him and calm him a bit. It’s just plain black tea, harsh and bitter on his tongue. The moment the spoon goes back into the sugar pot Junhui is picking it up to add some to his own cup.

“It doesn’t mean you can’t be king, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Junmyeon says so very seriously, “I’m a changling as well. Queen Yoona, you’ve met her before, she brought me into this kingdom right after she came into the throne.”

Junmyeon shakes his head. No, he’s not worried that being a changling would take away his chance for the throne. He wished for the opposite, actually. He'd asked that because he hoped that he could be jumped over and the throne would go directly to Seungkwan without doubt or question. Now in order for him to not have to become king he’s going to have to appoint Seungkwan himself or tell Joshua to pick him instead of Junhui. It’s always been a fear of his, ever since he was small and heard the whispering of trooplings.

“What happened to Jongin?”

Junmyeon makes a face before downing the contents of his cup. He rolls his shoulders and pours more tea for himself, dumping in spoonfuls of sugar. The cup in Junhui's hands is still piping hot with steam rolling off of it, heavy sugar still sits at the bottom waiting to be stirred more.

“Last I heard he’s a model in the human realm,” Junmyeon finally says. It sits in the air, not enough for Junhui to piece together whatever happened when he was small, something that might have happened before he was taken, but enough to technically answer his question.

“Why didn’t he become winter king. He was supposed to be, correct? After Kyungsoo stepped down he was going to hand it to his brother and Jongin what? fucked off?”

Junmyeon shrugs.

“He didn’t want to be king, never did. He left a note for his brother and just kind of... fucked off.”

Junhui nods and clears his head. He came here with questions to have answered, he can’t get distracted or forget them. 

“Why did Kyungsoo give the throne to Joshua if he was a troopling?”

Junmyeon nods, a smile reaches his eyes at the mention of Joshua briefly before it drops off the face of the earth to be replaced by something Junhui wouldn't call a sneer but wouldn’t  _ not  _ call it one either.

“Joshua showed a lot of power, a lot of trust in nature, and most importantly: an understanding and respect for others. He was a quick learner too, which I remember was important because Kyungsoo had to step down soon with the cycle coming to an end.”

There’s a law that there must be a cycle between step downs of rulers in order to keep nature balanced. If everyone up and left at the same time nature would be thrown so heavily out of whack.

Which reminds him.

“Who’s Baekhyun?”

Junmyeon stops any movement. Frozen solid in his seat it seems like he ages right before Junhui’s eyes but only if he looks hard enough. If he squinted he would see grey hairs sprouting from Junmyeon’s head. Those hardly there, fine lines wrinkles don’t physically change but it feels like if Junhui looks at him from another angle, maybe not head on anymore, that they would be sunken in and prominent. He swears Junmyeon’s skin greys, but maybe it’s the change of light.

“He was my heir,” is all he says before he stands and almost runs away from Junhui at his kitchen table. He doesn’t go far, can’t go far in this small home. Junhui watches as Junmyeon stands at the kitchen sink with his head in his hands. The call to get out, to leave, hangs unspoken in the air but Junhui refused to listen to words that never came out of his mouth.

“There was a threat against Baekhyun right after king Kyungsoo stepped down. Before spring could even come around to start the new year, Baekhyun was gone and I was focused to step down as well.”

Junmyeon turns around, this time Junhui knows he sees the lines of his brow pressed in deeply. Jumhui looks at him and sees him suddenly age 2,500 years in front of him.

“Please,” Junmyeon’s voice is barely above a whisper. It nearly gets carried away by the wind that whips by them, “I can’t tell you anymore. I need you to leave, before someone realizes you were here.”

Junhui opens his mouth to speak, trying to convince the past king to let him stay and ask more questions, but junmyeons mouth turns. He moves his hand and suddenly Junhui can’t do it, he can’t get a sound out of his throat. Across from him, a row of sharp teeth come into the light, has Junmyeon always been an unseelie? Surely the summer court can’t only be ruled by unseelies.

“I said leave, goodbye.”

Junhui blinks and he’s outside. His boots are on his feet and his jacket in his hands as he stands just outside the bubble of summer. The wind comes from the summer courts bubble as a harsh reminder where he does and doesn’t belong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you want to follow me on twitter i’m eczemasbitch

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so all of the festivals are going to be a combination of pagan/korean/jewish traditions. Lots of research went into this but if I got anything wrong please let me know!!


End file.
